In addition to repetition, poetry utilizes a broad range of figurative language, imagery, and symbolism—all devices requiring that the reader infer an unstated meaning.
We talk of the language in other genres of literature as being "poetic" when it draws heavily on either indirect expression of ideas through imagery, symbolism, or figurative language or it draws heavily on the sound (whether rhythm, cadence, beat, or rhyme) of words. Both of these devices are more evocative than direct in their expression, catering more to the senses than to reason and intelligence.
