ENGLISH
REFERENCE

l'envoy

n. countable
C2 Proficiency lenvoy

n. a short final section of a poem or book. It is often used to send the work to a specific person or to summarize the main message.

n. a short concluding stanza of a poem, such as a ballade, or a brief postscript at the end of a prose work. Often serves as a dedication or a summary of the preceding text.


SIMPLE

The poet added a short l'envoy to dedicate the book to his wife.

CONTEXTUAL

In the final l'envoy, the author addresses the reader directly to explain the moral of the story.

COMPLEX

The ballade concludes with a four-line l'envoy that shifts the tone from descriptive to instructional, effectively sealing the poem's thematic argument before the final refrain.

Usage

Often spelled 'envoy' in modern English; the French-style 'l'envoy' is more common in older literary criticism.

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