The Line

With every line of poetry you write, you must make two decisions:

1.) How long is this line going to be?

2.) Where will I break the line?

First, decide whether you want even or uneven line length.

The shorter the line, the greater the emphasis on each word.

The longer the line, the more emphasis on idea.

If you choose uneven line length, every line involves that choice.

How to measure the length of the line? Obviously, you can look at it on the page. You can also count syllables. Syllables are the sound-chunks of words. “Cat” is one syllable. “Asleep” is two syllables (a-sleep). “Syllables” is three syllables (syll-a-bles). Creating a poem where lines have a similar number of syllables usually means a pretty even poem.

Then, decide where to break the line.

The last word before the line break is emphasized, as is the first word of the next line.

When your line concludes a thought or clause, it is called “end-stopped.” Here’s William Blake (from A Poison Tree):

I was angry with my friend;

I told my wrath, my wrath did end.

I was angry with my foe:

I told it not, my wrath did grow.

A lot of end-stopping can make a poem feel slowed down or heavy; however, it is a great tool for emphasis, as in Blake’s poem!

When a line breaks in the middle of a thought, it is called “enjambed” and the practice is called “enjambment.” Here’s TS Eliot (“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”):

Do I dare ENJAMBMENT

Disturb the universe? END-STOPPED

A lot of enjambment creates tension and forward motion, but it can also feel rushed.

You want both end-stopping and enjambment in your poem, but contemporary poetry favors enjambment.