What is free verse?

Question

People say I wirte free verse, but i am not exactly sure what that is...

Answer 1

it's a compliment

Answer 2

Erica I also write free verse, and every one here is right it  doesn't have to rhythm or have  a certain meter.  It is probably one of the easiest forms of poetry, that could also vary from person to person depending on their preference! I have also started Haiku which is fun! So join in and share what you have and have fun with it !!  Cheers !!!

Answer 3

Free verse is poetry that does not adhere to any strict meter or rhyme.

Answer 4

my stuff is free verse. see that. i call it a narrative. free verse is a very lose rhyme scheme. i love a tight rhyme, but to me it's all about timing. you know, getting in a rhythm.

Answer 5

When you don't rhyme...

I'm sure there's more to it, but that's a good indication of free verse...

Answer 6

free verse is anything and everything, when it comes to poetic structure. It has no strict structure, it may take on any shape or form the poet intends or doesn't intend, but just lets the poetry leak out of their mind like water in a dam. Free form is beautiful, because it can imitate what it is not. . . hence free form poetry.

Answer 7

Pretty much poetry with not much structure.. Think Jim Morrison and Sylvia Plath. Very effective, i like it.

Answer 8

Free verse has no structure.  It does not follow a rhythmic pattern and does not rhyme.  It is much like a diary entry.  The only thing free verse needs is good flow.  That means the words and lines flow together without sounding choppy and discontinuous.  Many will take a simple essay and insert line breaks into it and call it free verse, but if it has no flow to tie it together then it is just words and line breaks, not poetry.  Poetry is not about writing pretty words, it is writing words prettily.

Answer 9

I mostly write in free verse also. You have some good answers here, I will just add:

Free verse isn't entirely free. It needs to have a rhythm (Dondi called it a flow). It needs good word choice. Good free verse pays attention to its line breaks.

It is what is mostly published now by modern poets. You may not know this because most schools still teach formal poetry. So, there is a tendency for people to see free verse for the first time, shrug their shoulders and say: "That's poetry?"

Good free verse however will come across as poetry even if it isn't to people's tastes.

Answer 10

free verse is a type of poetry but it doesnt have to rhyme

Answer 11

It doesn't mean that you don't have to pay to read it! Free verse is poetry without regular rhyme or meter. But the reader can sense the poetry because of less obvious and much more subtle patterns of speech. I believe that poetry is a talent that may be possessed by anyone who speaks any language. Poetry is language is music is poetry is music is language is poetry. I wrote that last sentence to get an idea across, but you can also see it as an example of free verse. So keep on "wirte-ing."