A palindrome is a word or sentence which can be read both ways and still be exactly the same. This type of mirroring can be found in words such as radar or level, or in more advanced sentences such as “Was it a rat I saw?”.
The following is an example of how far a palindrome can be taken.
The Faded Bloomer’s Rhapsody
Flee to me, remote elf — Sal a dewan desired;
Now is a Late-Petal era.
We fade: lucid Iris, red Rose of Sharon;
Goldenrod a silly ram ate.
Wan olives teem (ah, Satan lives!);
A star eyes pale Roses.
Revel, big elf on a mayonnaise man —
A tinsel baton-dragging nice elf too.
Lisp, oh sibyl, dragging Nola along;
Niggardly bishops I loot.
Fleecing niggard notables Nita names,
I annoy a Man of Legible Verse.
So relapse, ye rats,
As evil Natasha meets Evil
On a wet, amaryllis-adorned log.
Norah’s foes’ orders (I ridiculed a few) are late, Pet.
Alas, I wonder! Is Edna wed?
Alas — flee to me, remote elf.
– Howard W. Bergerson
It is interesting to note that there have even been a couple of novels written that are completely palindromic.
Another interesting literature technique is called a semordnilap. This is a word or a phrase that reads something completely different when read in reverse (a keen reader may note that “semordnilap” is “palindromes” spelled backwards). Examples include live/evil, star/rats and stressed/desserts (ironically).
