|
The Freedom in Free Verse By Mona Hodgson Walt Whitman made modern free verse popular in the nineteen century. Still today, a large segment of society, including that of writers, hesitates to recognize free verse as a legitimate form of poetry. Free Verse Defined Free verse is simply poetry
that is free of meter; not measured in syllables or accents. The King James
Bible reveals endless possibilities in non-metrical verse. Free verse provides
a forum for unique expressiveness in conversations with God. While it works to
communicate any topic, I find free verse to be an especially fitting form for
expressing prayers and spiritual truths. Here's an example in my poem, Boxing
God. Tugging on cardboard flaps I sputter, "B-b-but...." Straining to manipulate stressed seams, I argue, "If only...." Reaching for more packaging tape, I crease the carton's corners - "Why?" Pressed by life, I fold. Then You envelop me whispering, "I
AM!" MH In free verse, line length is
irregular, and rhyme, if used at all, can be random. A poet writing free verse
has more freedom to shape his poem both in sight and sound to meet its special
needs. Three Basic Types of Free Verse
Let's look at three basic types of free verse: End-stopped, Run-on, and Spatial. End-Stopped free verse makes a line break at the point of a natural pause.
This type of free verse leans toward long lines to permit syntactical or
grammatical internal pauses. A Noiseless Patient Spider by Walt Whitman
provides a good example of End-Stopped free verse. Run-On or Enjambed free
verse tends to break lines where
there is no grammatical or syntactical pause, usually breaking between
adjectives and nouns (for example, streesed/seams in Boxing God). Run-On free
verse encourages shorter lines requiring the reader to continue to the next
line to find out what is being said. For examples of Run-On free verse take
another look at my poem Boxing God and study poems by William Carlos Williams
(To Waken an Old Lady and Poem) and Ezra Pound (The Return). Visual or Spatial free verse allows the poet's carefully chosen words to create a visible picture as well as a word picture. My poem Fence Cat is a Visual poem. Gray Cat dangles a paw over one
side, another paw
over the other. Having
straddled the
fence for
so long he
shows no allegiance.
MH The first two lines are
distinctive in their line lengths—one long, the other clipped. The line lengths
gradually come together, and finally meet in the middle, creating a visual for
the point of my poem. Any poem may be a mixture of
these types of free verse. My poem, Fence Cat provides an example
of Visual free verse and Run-On free verse. Tips For Breaking Lines
The main concern for the free
verse poet is where to put line-breaks. At what point do we end a line and move
on to the next? There are precedents, but no rules. According to Louis Simpson,
poets break their lines in respect to personal impulse. Allen Ginsberg credits
breath as the main constituent in deciding where a poet's lines break. There
are several ways a poet can break lines. Here are three precedents that can
offer you direction. Where natural pauses occur.
You can break lines between phrases, after punctuation, as in end-stopped free
verse. In the middle of a natural
phrase, cutting "across the grain," disrupting the syntax as in the
run-on or enjambed line. At a point of suspense,
bidding the reader to follow his curiosity to the next line. Line-breaks Are Controlling You can cause your poem to
speed up, slow down, or stop dead in the way you choose your line breaks. Line
breaks control timing much the same way punctuation does. Play With Free Verse The essence of free verse is
the ability to say something significant in an eye and ear pleasing form using
relevant, consistent, and fresh imagery. Study the work of good free
verse poets. Walt Whitman and others that include, Ezra Pound, T.S. Elliot,
Allen Ginsberg, William Carlos Williams, Maya Angelou, Calvin Miller, and Lucy
Shaw. You'll find good free verse in anthologies, in specific poet's
collections, and in some magazines. Try writing the various types of free verse. Experiment with line breaks. Your style may vary from poem to poem. Mine does. Shake the confines of traditional forms, at least once, and try creating some free verse.
|