http://phillyyouthpoets.org/

LINE BREAKS:

Where do you break your lines?

(source: http://www.sophia.org/breaking-the-line-an-exercise-for-revision-in-poet-tutorial)

What is a poetic line?

A line is a unit of words in a poem, and it can vary in length. According to Oliver (1994), "The first obvious difference between prose and poetry is that prose is printed (or written) within the confines of margin, while poetry is written in lines that do not necessarily pay any attention to the margins, especially the right margin" (35).

An example

Here are three lines from Robert Creeley's poem "The Language":

     Locate I

     love you some-

     where in

Enjambment

What is enjambment?

Enjambment is breaking a line but not ending the sentence. Enjambment is when a poet carries over a sentence from one line to the other.

An example

There are multiple examples of enjambment in these lines from Robert Creeley's poem "The Language." Notice how this single sentence is carried over from one line to the next and over multiple stanzas, and all the lines break abruptly.

Locate I

love you some-

where in

teeth and

eyes, bite

it but

take care not

to hurt, you

want so

much so

little.

SOURCE: ESTESS, S. & MCCANN, J. (2003). IN A FIELD OF WORDS: A CREATIVE WRITING TEXT. UPPER SADDLE RIVER, NJ: PRENTICE-HALL & CREELEY, R. (1992). THE COLLECTED POEMS OF ROBERT CREELEY, 1945-1975. BERKELEY, CA: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS

Robert Creeley and The Line

One of the masters of enjambment and the line is the poet Robert Creeley. As you can see above, Creeley's line breaks are often startling and unexpected. To find out more about Creeley's unique use of the line (or breaking the line), read the section on "The Line" in How to Read A Poem, which you can find here:

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19882

You can also find a brief biography of Robert Creeley and his poems here:

http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/184

SOURCE: POETS.ORG FROM THE ACADEMY OF AMERICAN POETRY

Robert Creeley's "The Language"

Here is the complete poem of Robert Creeley's "The Language":

The Language

Locate I

love you some-

where in

teeth and

eyes, bite

it but

take care not

to hurt, you

want so

much so

little. Words

say everything.

Ilove you

again,

then what

is emptiness

for. To

fill, fill.

I heard words

and words full

of holes

aching. Speech

is a mouth.

SOURCE: CREELEY, R. (1992). THE COLLECTED POEMS OF ROBERT CREELEY, 1945-1975. BERKELEY, CA: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS

Robert Creeley's "The Language": An Animated Version

An animated poem of Robert Creeley's "The Language" read by Carl Hancock Rux:

open player in a new window

SOURCE: POETRY FOUNDATION

"Creeleyizing" A Poem

Assignment Task:

Select a poem that you have written. For the purposes of this assignment, it is best if the poem consists of lines at least ten syllables in length and/or heavily end-stopped lines (meaning that punctuation appears at the end of the line).

After you have selected a poem, "Creeleyize" your poem. In other words, rewrite your poem by breaking your lines at unexpected moments (like Creeley does in a number of his poems), creating frequent enjambment and short lines.

Assignment Purpose:

The purpose of this assignment is to revise the lineation of your poem, exploring ways in which your changes in line breaks and line length open up new meanings and points of emphasis in the poem. It might also suggest possibilities for further revision to imagery and sound.

Some Questions to Consider After Your Revision:

• Does the change in lineation help reinforce the rhythm of the poem? Or does it seem distracting?
• Is the change in lineation appropriate for the meaning of the poem? In other words, does this new form enhance the content of the poem?
• What words and phrases stand out to you in this revision that did not stand out before? How does this change the poem?
• What additional ways might you revise the poem to explore other possibilities for making meaning, sound or word play?