cento

A poet composes a cento by selecting lines from various famous poems.

Definition

1. Noun (countable):
   • A literary work composed of quotations from other authors: A "cento" is a piece of writing, especially a poem, that is made up entirely of lines or passages taken from other works. The term literally means "patchwork" in Latin.
   • A patchwork or mosaic: By extension, "cento" can refer to any creation made by assembling diverse elements, such as a musical composition or a visual artwork.

Usage Examples

• Literary work:

  • The poet created a cento by stitching together lines from Shakespeare and Milton. (A poem composed entirely of borrowed lines.)
  • Her latest collection includes a cento that reworks famous sonnets. (A patchwork poem using pre-existing verses.)

• Mosaic or patchwork:

  • The artist's collage was a visual cento of magazine clippings. (A composition made from various sources.)
  • The film's soundtrack is a cento of classical pieces. (A musical patchwork of borrowed melodies.)

Advanced Usage

• "cento technique": a method of composition where the author deliberately uses borrowed fragments to create new meaning.

  • The cento technique allows the poet to critique the original texts by recontextualizing them. (Using borrowed lines for commentary.)

• "cento as pastiche": a cento can be seen as a form of pastiche, imitating the style of multiple authors.

  • The novel was a cento of 19th-century prose, blending Dickens and Austen. (A patchwork imitating different authors' styles.)

Variants and Related Words

• Centonic (adj): relating to or characteristic of a cento.

  • The centonic structure of the poem made it feel like a literary collage. (Having the qualities of a cento.)

• Centonist (n): a writer who composes centos.

  • The centonist gathered fragments from ancient texts to create new verses. (A poet specializing in centos.)

Synonyms

• Patchwork: something composed of miscellaneous or incongruous parts.
• Collage: an artistic composition made of various materials (often visual, but applicable to text).
• Mosaic: a picture or pattern produced by arranging small pieces; a composite whole.
• Pastiche: an artistic work in a style that imitates that of another work, artist, or period.

Related Idioms

Additional Notes

• The word "cento" is relatively rare in everyday English and is primarily used in literary criticism or discussions of experimental writing. It comes directly from Latin, where it meant "patchwork garment."