Palindromic Verse

TL;DR: Poems in pure palindromic verse are purposely crafted to be read either forwards from the very beginning or backwards, the latter starting from the last word of the bottommost line.

Normal palindromes are words, phrases, or sentences that can be read forwards and backwards.

Palindrome poems are those that can be read bottom-up, either line by line, word by word, or even letter by letter. Although technically speaking, poems that can be read line by line top to bottom and vice versa are called "reverse poems."

Pure palindrome poems connect either the first word with the last, the second with the penultimate, the third with the antepenultimate, etc. The most difficult and rarest form does this with matching letters.

But this article is an entry for palindromic verse, which is a technique rather than a form, meaning that it could be used sparingly either by injecting a few palindromic lines at a time or even in a small phrase.

Word by word: "Violence begets fear, fear begets violence."

Letter by letter: "Evil rats on no star live."

In small phrases or sentences, word-by-word palindromic phrases or sentences are actually quite reminiscent of the chiasmus and even more so similar to antimetaboles. “Parallelism” is the term that encompasses all of these rhetorical devices.

Metaphorically, palindromic verse can be used to represent:

Life's Cyclical Nature

The cyclical progression of palindromic verse can be used to represent the cyclical nature of life, that life ends in death, but that death could also bring about life in the form of nourishment, like when an owl feeds her younglings with a mouse.

Inevitability, Fate, or Destiny

Regarding palindromic verse's formal strictures, poets may use this technique to represent inevitability, similar to how it can be used to metaphorize the cyclicality of life.

Logical Symmetry

As in the word-by-word example above, palindromic verse can emphasize how one object logically concludes with another and vice versa.

Symmetry within Poetic Forms

In the physical plane of the poetic form itself, palindromic verse provides perfect symmetry, especially when used in longer stanzas or even entire poems. Maybe use it when you have a speaker with obsessive idiosyncrasies?

Introspection via Reflection

Using the symmetrical aspect in the physical plane, you may be able to induce the reader to believe that your palindromic verses are a form of self-reflection, either of the poet themselves or of a speaker within the poem.

Permanence versus Impermanence

Even in reverse order, either word by word or letter by letter, the unchanging structure of a palindromic verse can represent the permanence of a sentiment. In some cases, when a palindromic verse is reversed, the meaning can change, which can also represent impermanence.

Unchanging Core while Surroundings Change

With how palindromic verses or poems begin to mirror themselves near the middle, you can use this characteristic to symbolize some sort of internal resistance to changing surroundings.