Dimwit previously stole 'A New Feature of Poetry' (9)
I believe the answer is:
assonance
'feature of poetry' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both related to communication as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'dimwit previously stole a new' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'a' could be 'an' and 'an' is present in the answer.
'previously' could be 'once' (I've seen this before) and 'once' is found in the leftover letters.
The remaining letters 'ass' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for assonance that I've seen before include "as spring sprung demonstrates?" , "Can season (anag)" , "In poetry, resemblance in the sounds of words" , "The repetition of similar-sounding words or syllables" , "Resemblance of sound between syllables of nearby words" .)