Vísar

Vísar is the plural of the Icelandic word vísa, which denotes a verse or short poem. As a term used in Icelandic literature, vísar can refer to individual stanzas, a collection of verses, or a complete poem made up of several verses.

Historically, vísa has roots in Old Norse and appears in medieval Icelandic poetry. In the skaldic and eddic traditions, short verses were composed for praise, storytelling, or ritual recitation. Over time, the concept carried into later Icelandic forms such as rímur, where longer narratives are divided into rhymed stanzas that resemble sequences of vísar.

Modern usage is straightforward: vísar denotes verses in secular or religious poetry, chants, and songs. In everyday language, a poet may publish a collection of vísar or refer to a single vísa within a larger work. The word is also used in titles and phrases referring to poetry generally.

See also: vísa, rímur, skaldic poetry, Icelandic literature.