When characters get exactly the outcome they deserve - villains punished and heroes rewarded - in a way that feels satisfying and fitting.
Poetic justice is the narrative principle that virtue should be rewarded and vice punished, ideally in a way that mirrors or directly connects to the character's own actions. The term was coined by critic Thomas Rymer in the 1670s, but the concept is as old as storytelling itself. It's the universe of the story saying, 'You had this coming.'
Readers have a deep, almost primal desire for things to work out fairly, even when real life doesn't cooperate. Poetic justice gives your story a sense of moral coherence that can be deeply satisfying. But here's the thing: you can also subvert it on purpose. Choosing whether or not to give your characters what they deserve is one of the most important thematic decisions you'll make.
Scrooge's redemption earns him the love and community he'd rejected, while his visions showed the lonely death his cruelty was leading toward.
Flynn deliberately denies readers poetic justice. Nick and Amy are trapped together, and nobody gets what they deserve - which is the whole point.
Voldemort is killed by his own rebounding curse, destroyed by the very power he sought to wield against others.
When every character gets perfectly proportional consequences, the story can feel like a morality play. Leave some messiness. Real stories are complicated.
Sometimes the most powerful stories are the ones where justice doesn't arrive. Subverting poetic justice can be a deliberate, effective choice.
The best poetic justice is specific. A liar should be undone by lies, not just hit by a bus. The consequence should mirror the transgression.
Write two versions of the same scene: a corrupt politician facing the consequences of their actions. In version one, give them perfect poetic justice - let their own scheme destroy them. In version two, let them get away with it. Notice how each version changes the story's emotional impact and what it seems to be saying about the world.