free verse

Meanings

1. 1noununcountableliterary

   Poetry that does not use a regular rhyme scheme or a fixed rhythmic pattern.

   Grammar: Uncountable; no plural. Used to talk about a style or a particular poem written in this style.

   Patterns

   • write in free verse
   • a poem in free verse
   • free verse poem

   Many modern poets prefer free verse because it lets them follow the natural rhythms of speech.

   Her latest collection is written entirely in free verse, with line breaks that guide the reader's breath.

2. 2nouncountable or uncountableliterary

   A poem or poems composed without regular rhyme or meter.

   Grammar: Can be countable when referring to individual poems: 'a free verse' is less common but possible; usually uncountable.

   Patterns

   • a free verse
   • read a free verse

   The teacher asked us to analyze a free verse by Walt Whitman.

   He published several free verses in the campus literary magazine.

Common combinations

write in free verse

She likes to write in free verse because she dislikes strict rhyming.

a free verse poem

The class discussed a free verse poem that had no punctuation.

free verse collection

His free verse collection won a national poetry prize.

experiment with free verse

Early in her career, she experimented with free verse before returning to sonnets.

Synonyms and how they differ

vers libre

Vers libre is the French term, sometimes used in English for the same idea; it sounds more literary or technical.

prose poetry

Prose poetry is written in prose paragraphs, not lines; free verse still uses line breaks as a poetic device.

Opposites

Word family

free-verse adjective

Used before a noun: a free-verse poem.

Commonly confused: free verse or blank verse?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “free verse”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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