# Writing Poetry: Line Breaks



## Ariel (Jul 14, 2016)

*Writing Poetry: Line Breaks*

The most noticeable difference between poetry and prose is where a line breaks.  In prose lines continue across a page until an arbitrary margin forces the line's break.  This margin is often dictated by an outside influence--usually a publisher.  This creates a steady margin and looks like a block of text.


Line breaks and where they break is important for the poet.  When reading poetry or verse a reader gives a slight pause to the end of the line regardless of the presence of poetry.  This pause gives emphasis and added weight to the last word of a line.


In poetry a line break is determined by the poet.  Many things factor into where a poet chooses to end a line.  In metered or syllabic verse the line break is determined by the meter or syllable count.  For example in haiku the first line is five syllables.  This does not mean that many of the techniques discussed below cannot be used with metered verse but rather that breaking meter or controlling meter in this way needs to be well-thought out.


In unmetered verse other factors will determine where a line will break.  These breaks will often depend on the poet.  A well-thought out line break can deepen the meaning of a poem or even give new meaning to a turn of phrase.  Unmetered verse does not mean non-rhythmic verse.  All language has a natural rhythm which is emphasized by natural speech patterns and which can be further strengthened by where a line is broken.


Line breaks can occur at the end of grammatical or syntactical units.  This will strengthen a sense of regularity and will emphasize normal speech patterns.  When a line break coincides with a natural speech pause, usually indicated by some form of punctuation, that line is _end-stopped_.


Another technique, _enjambment_ gives the line a breathless, rushed feeling and pulls the reader along while allowing the poet to emphasize a word or idea that otherwise might be lost.  Enjambment occurs when the line breaks outside of a grammatical or syntactical unit.


Sytactical and grammatical units can also occur within a line.  When this happens it creates a break in the rhythm of a line and is called a caesura.

_Source: Boisseau, Michelle and Robert Wallace. "Writing Poems: Sixth Edition." Pearson Longman. 2004._


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## Firemajic (Jul 15, 2016)

This is fabulous information, amsaw, Thank you! I was wondering if you have an example of a poem, where the line breaks do not work, then we could all edit it and see if we can apply your information, and fix it...


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## Ariel (Jul 15, 2016)

I'll have to work on that.  It may be later today before I post it up.


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## Firemajic (Jul 15, 2016)

Thank you! I struggled with my poem I just posted in the Poetry thread, and I know it needs work on the line breaks, so I am hoping I can learn and then fix it...


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## escorial (Jul 15, 2016)

I do enjoy your informative threads...


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## Ariel (Jul 15, 2016)

_This is part of a poem I had been working on that eventually became something else.  I'm taking out my line breaks so this is more like prose.  Please feel free to repattern this how you think it will work best._

The transmission is slipping smoothly into gear. Metal teeth meet metal teeth to send me soaring ever faster down the highway.  Pistons are churning faster and faster in a blur. I crouch beside you as you point out the tiny interlocking teeth of the transmission gears.  Oil and grease stain your fingers as you point at each set in turn. You pick up the old gearshaft and point at the bent and broken teeth--each a testament to how the transmission had been abused.


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## Firemajic (Jul 15, 2016)

Fabulous! I remember this... I loved the imagery. I will work on it, this will not be easy for me, because there are so many options... Thank you..


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## Firemajic (Jul 15, 2016)

amsawtell said:


> _This is part of a poem I had been working on that eventually became something else.  I'm taking out my line breaks so this is more like prose.  Please feel free to repattern this how you think it will work best._
> 
> The transmission is slipping smoothly into gear.
> Metal teeth meet metal teeth to send me soaring ever faster down the highway.
> ...




Ok, this seems like the most obvious way to structure the line breaks, because of the punctuation ... and the lines are unmetered... sooo...


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## Ariel (Jul 15, 2016)

It is an obvious way to break it.  But the poet has to ask is this the strongest emotional impact these lines can have?


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## Firemajic (Jul 15, 2016)

Right, but since I did not write this, I don't know what emotion you want... Ok, well I will play with this, and see if I can add some drama... how is that?


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## Ariel (Jul 15, 2016)

No, but you can add emotion of your own.  You can even change around the punctuation if you wish.


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## Firemajic (Jul 15, 2016)

amsawtell said:


> No, but you can add emotion of your own.  You can even change around the punctuation if you wish.




Ok, I like a challenge! I will see what I can do...


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## Phil Istine (Jul 15, 2016)

Demystifying line breaks would be a big help.
If a poem has no strict meter or form, I just follow my intuition - which may be flawed.
I do try to break to avoid end rhyme - if it feels like the sort of poem where some end rhyme doesn't fit.


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## Ariel (Jul 15, 2016)

Think about how the word sounds with the following or preceding word--that can help you make your decision. You can alter line lengths to give a different feel or to draw attention to different sounds. The following sentence is a bad example but you can get the idea of how breaking a line in different places emphasizes different ideas and feelings. 

Example:



> The glass slipped from her hand
> to break
> on the hardwood floor.



Here the emphasis is on the break.  This could indicate anger about the glass breaking or exasperation at the character's clumsiness. I would use breaks like this in a poem exploring domestic abuse.



> The glass
> slipped
> from her hand to break
> on the hardwood
> floor.



Here the emphasis is on the slipping and the floor.  This leads the reader to question why the glass slipped. It can lend a sense of sadness to a poem about someone suffering from an illness. Maybe later the character can slip on the same floor.



> The glass slipped
> from her hand
> to break on the hardwood floor.


This might indicate more of the character's mental or emotional state. Maybe they're shocked or happy about something.

As you can guess it is really hard to discern emotional meaning from one sentence but punctuation and line breaks and where they occur can help build meaning into a short sentence.  Of course it depends on further context in the poem as to where or what kind of break a poem needs.


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## escorial (Jul 17, 2016)

amsawtell said:


> _This is part of a poem I had been working on that eventually became something else.  I'm taking out my line breaks so this is more like prose.  Please feel free to repattern this how you think it will work best._
> 
> The transmission is slipping smoothly into gear. Metal teeth meet metal teeth to send me soaring ever faster down the highway.  Pistons are churning faster and faster in a blur. I crouch beside you as you point out the tiny interlocking teeth of the transmission gears.  Oil and grease stain your fingers as you point at each set in turn. You pick up the old gearshaft and point at the bent and broken teeth--each a testament to how the transmission had been abused.



i would simply break this up in a very simplistic way..just as you wrote it really..i can't see why spacing would add or subtract from it or give it any more structure...


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## escorial (Jul 17, 2016)

i've been chopping this piece up and it is a very mechanical piece..doh!..did you intend for the piece to be that way..solid and structured...


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## Ariel (Jul 17, 2016)

I always intend for my pieces to be solid and structured.  My original line breaks are below:



> The transmission is slipping
> smoothly into gear.
> Metal teeth meet metal
> teeth  to send me soaring
> ...


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## escorial (Jul 17, 2016)

that's pretty much how i  done it......without the punc...


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## PiP (Jul 17, 2016)

Interesting because I see line breaks slightly differently It really depends how much you cut a poem and then take into account breath pause. The line breaks also control the pace of the poem, otherwise it just reads as prose arranged as a poem



> _The__ transmission is slipping _
> _smoothly into gear._
> _Metal teeth meet metal _
> _teeth__ to send me soaring_
> ...


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## Ariel (Jul 17, 2016)

Except I also like playing with the sound of the words. For instance, I purposely used metal twice in that sentence because it emphasized and slows down the pacing to give a breathless feeling when read. Also, you know, alliteration.

To be honest, this was massively changed.  None of this made it into the final poem.


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## Phil Istine (Jul 17, 2016)

I ended up doing it this way, but I don't know enough to present any strong reasons as to why.  I avoided ending lines on "weak" words (I think).

  The transmission is slipping smoothly into gear.
  Metal teeth meet metal teeth
  to send me soaring
  ever faster
  down the highway.
  Pistons are churning
  faster and faster
  in a blur.

  I crouch beside you as you point out
  the tiny interlocking teeth
  of the transmission gears.
  Oil and grease stain your fingers
  as you point
  at each set in turn.

  You pick up the old gearshaft
  and point
  at the bent and broken teeth—
  each a testament
  to how the transmission
  had been abused.

EDIT:  At least I seemed to have an eye for where a verse should end.  It's a start


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## Ariel (Jul 17, 2016)

Your breaks are as valid as mine.


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## RHPeat (Jul 17, 2016)

Amsawtell

Interesting concepts about *reiteration* and *repeated sound/music*. 
*1.* When should both be used. 
*2. *What does either provide for the poem as a whole must be considered, 
so that the poem can stand on its own merit without being crippled due to over use of either concepts. 
*3.* It should look like what it is, so that it conveys its message of intent as the artist's/writer's actual choice.

*Reiteration* should provide something new to the poem when it's used — when a word or words are repeated. 

*Music* in the use of *repetitive words* tends to be more accented in refrains/ repetons, identities_ (repeated single words)_ on the end of the lines, or in anaphoras on the head of the lines or a tag on the end on the lines as a group of words similar to an anaphora, but they appear at the end of the line opposed to the introduction of the line. 

just some added thoughts on the concepts to make the poem's intent look more intentional as a choice by its creator concerning the use of constructed devices. Of course we must always weigh out our personal concerns as well. 

a poet friend
RH Peat


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## RHPeat (Jul 17, 2016)

Phil Istine

What is meant by a weak word on the end of the line? There is some real confusion here concerning line breaks. 

1. is the line end-stopped?
2. is the line enjambed?  

End stopping a line bring the line to abrupt stop before beginning the next line while an enjambment (which you might consider weak) would force the flow of the text into the head of the next line accenting the head of the next line, thus pulling the reader forward in the flow of the motion of the text involved. It depends on what one wants. Enjambment also make the breath pause at the end of the line more slight by pulling forward. So it speeds up a part of the poem. There are times to use such devices and they wouldn't be weak at all; they might actually empower parts of the poems content/ metaphors/ and-or overall intent.. 

Just some thoughts or what might be weak or not weak regarding the end of the line. Below: this contains enjambed lines

i.e.

I crouch beside you as 
you point out tiny 
interlocking gears, teeth inside
the transmission.
  Oil and grease stain 
your fingers as 
you point at each set in 
turn.

a poet friend
RH Peat


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## Phil Istine (Jul 17, 2016)

RHPeat said:


> Phil Istine
> 
> What is meant by a weak word on the end of the line? There is some real confusion here concerning line breaks.
> 
> ...



Indeed, I hadn't considered enjambment when I wrote that earlier post.
Thanks for the heads up.


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