Dikt

Dikt is a noun used in Swedish and Norwegian to denote a poem or verse. In Danish the cognate is digt. The term comes from the verb dikta, to compose or dictate, and refers to a literary work written in lines, usually arranged in stanzas.

Dikt can vary in length and form. It may use rhythm, meter, and rhyme, or be written in free verse. It can be lyric, narrative, or dramatic, and often relies on imagery, metaphor, and other figures of speech to convey meaning or mood.

Historically, poetry in the Nordic region has roots in oral traditions of skalds and bards and later developed within medieval and modern literatures. Today dikt is a core form in Scandinavian literature, taught in schools and widely published and translated.