PoetryIntermediate
Volta
A turn in argument, feeling, image, or perspective.
Principle
A poem often comes alive where it turns.
Takeaways
- The volta may reverse, deepen, answer, or reframe.
- Sonnets traditionally foreground the volta, but any poem can turn.
- A turn should alter the reader's relation to what came before.
Overview
Volta is the poetic turn: a shift in thought, address, tone, image, or argument. It is one of the clearest ways a poem creates movement.
Examples
- A praise poem turns into accusation.
- A landscape description turns into self-recognition.