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complaint
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Also called:
plaint
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complaint

literature
Also known as: plaint
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History

complaint, in literature, a formerly popular variety of poem that laments or protests unrequited love or tells of personal misfortune, misery, or injustice. Works of this type include Rutebeuf’s La Complainte Rutebeuf (late 13th century) and Pierre de Ronsard’s “Complainte contre fortune” (1559).