envoi

poetry

Also known as: prince

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

June 26, 2026

Quick Summary

An envoi is a concluding remark, often explanatory or commendatory, found at the end of a poem, essay, or book. In poetry, it specifically refers to a short, final stanza that typically points out the moral of the work or addresses the person to whom the poem is dedicated.12

The term originates from the Middle French word envoy, meaning "the act of sending or dispatching". While most commonly associated with French poetic forms like the ballade and chant royal, envois have also been used by English poets such as Geoffrey Chaucer.1

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

3 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

ballade
…dedicatory stanza is called the prince (because that is usually its first word), or the envoi. The chant royal is similar to the ballade but has five main stanzas.
Read More
…dedicatory stanza is called the prince (because that is usually its first word), or the envoi. The chant royal is similar to the ballade but has five main stanzas.
Read More

envoi
The term is specifically used to mean a short, fixed final stanza of a poem (such as a ballade) pointing the moral and usually addressing the person to whom the poem is written. Although they are most often associated with the ballade and chant royal—i.e., French…
Read More
The term is specifically used to mean a short, fixed final stanza of a poem (such as a ballade) pointing the moral and usually addressing the person to whom the poem is written. Although they are most often associated with the ballade and chant royal—i.e., French…
Read More