Poetic justice: what does it consist of?

Poetic justice is a desire, an ideal that offers us harmony in a world where sometimes justice is anything but fair. It defines those situations in which bad actions are always punished in the same proportion as the act committed and where good actions are rewarded and valued. Few things give us greater peace of mind than seeing how logic triumphs in a world where illogical acts are committed.

Now… isn’t this how every legal system in charge of applying what we call “justice” works? Actually, not always. It’s more, Sometimes, the world of jurisprudence or law is not as blind as it should be. Favoritism abounds, stratagems that border on illegality and even errors that neither time nor common sense can repair.

It was the English poet and historian Thomas Rymer who coined the term poetic justice in 1678 in his work The tragedies of the last age considered» In this work I tried to establish an idea: Although in real life true justice is not always done, in literature and poetry the latter can always be achieved.

Poetic justice, the search for a more virtuous world

Each of us has an internal model of what we understand by justice.. Now, if we put all our ideas and conceptions in common, we would outline the same typology: poetic justice. Our inner being experiences deep pleasure when, suddenly, events occur that fit this model of jurisprudence.

It comforts us, for example, to read news about how a group of lions have devoured the poachers who were going to kill them.. We see well that the thief who has just assaulted an elderly woman suffers an accident in the car while escaping. Also that the politician who practiced corruption is finally tried and imprisoned. There is a certain harmony in these acts, a certain balance that satisfies us and even calms us.

Likewise, these kinds of exemplary outcomes are a constant in the world of cinema and also in literature. Let’s admit it, We love those productions in which the evildoer receives, as they say, a spoonful of his own medicine. Seeing how the person who committed a dastardly act receives punishment from him, while the hero obtains all the recognition, generates well-being for us.

Thus, classic authors such as Horace and Plutarch already used this type of exemplary and inspiring justice in their works. Let’s get to know the three components that define this dimension.

Punishment for the wicked

Poetic justice is defined by a key and transcendental element: Evil is always punished in proportion to the act committed. This is perhaps one of the aspects that stands out the most. Because, sometimes, our legal system is disproportionate or inadequate.

There are times when the thief who he steals to eat and spends a good part of his life in prison, while those who steal to enrich themselves are freed from any penalty due to the expertise of their lawyers. That is why circumstances are so important, that is why true justice has a lot to do with equity.

Good not only triumphs, it is also recognized

The recognition of good is one of the pillars of poetic justice. We all know that goodness, heroism or the person who personally suffers the effect of evil does not always feel fully recognized. In many cases, this lack of appreciation prevents repair.

However, poetic law highlights the role of the victim who suffered and also of the person who fought to defend the truth. Recognizing the role of heroes is allowing goodness to triumph.

Triumph of logic

Seeing evil punished and goodness recognized confers a kind of deep extra-procedural satisfaction. It’s more, A type of mental and emotional harmony is generated in the brain because moral and ethical logic have triumphed.

After all, the true purpose of poetic justice is to emphasize and celebrate morality. It is a reminder that behaving morally is the most suitable and recommended option in any form of society..

The role of poets, writers and philosophers in the world of law and jurisprudence

Martha Nussbaum is a renowned American philosopher, author of the book Poetic justice: literary imagination and public life. In this work, which combines the fields of law and philosophy, a central idea stands out: Judges and lawyers need greater humanity and a way to achieve it, It is through poetry, literature and philosophy.

To achieve a more just and equitable society, we must stop focusing on that colder and more calculating area that is economic power. If we educated new generations in the subversive power of poetry and philosophy, we would surely give the world more sensitive, fair, humane and empathetic scientists, judges and legislators.

Reading educates us and instills in us the need to transform the world from a more ethical point of view. Because In much of literature and the poetic universe, the poetic justice that we all long for implicitly navigates. and that is not always applied.

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