What does "Free Verse" mean?

Question

I have read this in some of the comments but I do not understand what it means.

Would you be kind enough to educate me?

Thank you.

Answer 1

"Free verse", or "open verse" means just what it says, "free"...free of forced structure, rhyme or meter, pattern, etc. Many confuse this with "prose", but the difference is that prose simply tells, free verse shows. Sometimes the line is fine, but like art, you know it when you see it. For example, here is a free verse that walks that fine line between prose and poetry:

Kyrie Eleison

Tis the year of our Lord 1365
An odd number itself factored by primes
3, 5, 7 and 13
Strange too the events I’ve witnessed this year
Grand Master Raymond de Berenger
Of his holiness’ Knights Hospitiler of St. John
Captured Alexandria by sea
Burning a Muslim pirate fleet there
Christ’s vicar on Earth
Our holy father, Pope Urban the fifth
…Dominus conservet eum…
Ordered the restoration of the Vatican
So he could abandon holy Avignon
Ending 56 years of stability
And the Ottoman’s, having already raped Thrace
Have taken Adrianople and made it their capital
Surely God will turn talk of a great crusade
Against these blasphemers to action
For they threaten more than empire
But what can a modest holy man
Who must endure these times in humble silence
Do to change a world gone mad?
Perhaps the answer lies in numbers
For only numbers do not lie
Nor is their pure beauty swayed
By political or royal flattery
“Ars longa vita brevis”
And I fear I have neither art nor life
I am alone, poor, without power
And by His law, without a wife

Kyrie Eleison (1)
Deus misereatur nostri
Et benedicat nobis inlustret faciem
Suam super nos semper. (2)
Benedicat nobis Deus et
Timeant eum omnes fines terrae! (3)
Amen
Amen
Amen


Kevin M. Sorbello

(1) “Lord have mercy” – Greek
(2) Psalm 66:2 “May God have mercy on us, and bless us: may he cause the light of his countenance to shine upon us, and may he have mercy on us.” - Latin
(3) Psalm 66:8 “May God bless us: and all the ends of the earth fear him!” - Latin

The reason this leans away from prose is the way the words roll off the tongue and the images that are brought to mind are more than the words themselves convey. The Latin words are neither here nor there, although they carry a message, the use in this poem is for "sound", legitimacy of the speaker (a 14th century monk in love with numbers) and meaning. When you read the words you almost taste them...this is intentional and any good free verse poem must do something similar if it is to walk that fence on the side of poetry.

Other free verse poetry is obscure, fractured, impactive, and at times, quite short, like this one:

The Glass Breaks

As words stop
The phone drops
The hand shakes
The glass slips
Time slows
Silent fall
Ringing ears
Disbelief
Drink spills
Floor nears
“Oh my God
For goodness sakes
They say she’s dead!”
The glass breaks.

Kevin Sorbello

You'll notice that there are a couple lines that rhyme, but not most of them. This too is common, especially when the poem wants to draw attention to a few lines...the rhymes help do that.

I hope this helps

Answer 2

Not following specific formulas of versing in the poem. For example: not rhyming, not breaking into set stanzas, not following a set number of lines per stanza. In essence, it's a free flow and/or stream of consciousness. Free verse is an art as it challenges the writer to be more creative with the substance of his/her poem. T.S. Eliot was a master at this.

Answer 3

It does not mean "Throw some ink on the paper."

Cinnamon found a good definition a couple weeks ago.

It must have some artistic elements and interesting word usage and play...maybe she will show us that again.

Answer 4

Free verse means it's a poem that doesn't have a real structure. It doesn't rhyme at all, it doesn't have a specific amount of lines in it or words per line, or a beat (i.e. iambic pentameter)...it just is.

Answer 5

It's the poetry version of "free love." No rules.

Or, put another way, Steven Stills (of CSN&Y) would say,
"If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with."

Answer 6

verse without regular rhythm or meter

Answer 7

free verse - you can use any structure u want to