If you are reading this, then chances dictate that you have at some point in the past delved into my literary closet and hinging on this distinct possibility, it can be assumed that you know I write in
Free Verse. Now, I don't consider myself an expert by any means, at best a journeyman in the field, but after extensive research (AKA: Reading the Wikipedia article and telling my cat all about it), I'm going to attempt to put together a sufficient journal that will hopefully be of some help to some poet somewhere.
To understand free verse, one must first understand the concept.
Free verse's simplified, modern definition is
"a style of poetry where there is no set rhyme, rhythm, meter or even form". It's said in its name really. Free verse is quite free, allowing the poet to explore different avenues than regular, set styles of poetry. Everyone can open a book of sonnets and expect to find 14 lines in each poem. Free verse on the other hand, the poems can vary in length, size, shape, and the list goes on. Logically speaking, all forms of poetry that don't meet any other specific category are automatically filed under free verse.
One thing to note is that although no rhyme, rhythm, meter or form is necessary in free verse, it is not explicitly stated that these things should be lacking. By Zeus, no! They aren't required in the slightest, but they can be a useful rhetorical device nonetheless. No one will stop you from inserting a few rhymes into your poem or putting in several lines that contain a specific number of syllables. The beauty of free verse is that all the elements of regularly poetry and, indeed, writing in general can come and go at the writer's whim.
But, as T.S. Elliot wrote of free verse, "No verse is free for the man who wants to do a good job." While "a good job" is in the eye of the beholder, Elliot makes an excellent point. There is only one base definition of poetry left when it concerns free verse: a series of lines that come together to express the writer's purpose(s) or emotion(s). One cannot write a paragraph and call it poetry. Even free form poetry can be recognized as poetry. So, by this reasoning the one and only rule of free verse is poetry is "It has to be poetry", which is understandable in most regards.
Most people mistake free verse for laziness, but in truth, it can be just as intensive and time consuming as any other form of writing. Yes, there are some people out there who can jot down a few lines and it will be a masterpiece, but then again there are those insane exceptions everywhere in life. For the most part, one cannot simple just start writing with no pre-thought. If one does, they may just come up with a jumbled mess that might as well be nonsensical ramblings. I have, admittedly, done this before and while it's an interesting outlet for free floating thoughts, it's not a proper way to form a poem that holds a purpose and some real value. Expressing your thoughts or yourself through a poem will take time to do so properly.
One thing I have learned about writing in general is that one must experiment if they wish to become better. Oh, don't get me wrong. You can study styles out of a book, you can read poetry, you can do all these things, but to achieve true personal growth in writing, a person must experiment. This can translate into repeating the experiment, writing more and more of your preferred style until you become the undisputed master of it, or, as someone can in free verse, playing around with an assortment of different details that can coalesce into a poem.
Experimenting with writing poetry, like science, begins with a question:
"Why should this line start at the margin?"
"Does putting this word here make it ironic?"
"What if I were to include this remark in parenthesis? Would it make the reader think more or would it just seem like a pointless addition?"
"If I put this comma here, will the reader automatically run all of the lines together when reading and not realize that the one simple comma that they themselves overlooked change the whole damn meaning of the stanza?"
I am an advocate of experimenting. Call me a transcendentalist but you can learn so much from simply trying things out. Screw around with enjambment! Play with metaphors! Frolic with alliteration! Put punctuation where it doesn't usually go (and perhaps try a little parallel syntax
)! Free verse offers the most freedom of any style of poetry and as such, it is practically made for experimentation.
In fact, that is its greatest strength. You can simply break away the conforming bonds of regular styles and write just what you wish to. While some favor a set of rules of which to adhere to, others, like me, opt for writing things exactly as we want them.
I'm not claiming that other poetry styles are obsolete or that free verse is better (though, come on, let's be honest.
). I know it's not for everyone and if you love to write haiku or limericks, well (by gosh, by gum, by golly jee), you write the hell out of those haiku and/or limericks.
So, in summary:
Free verse poetry is really free and you should like, totally experiment with and stuff. But most of all,
EXPERIMENT!
You might just be surprised with how freeing it is.