Enjambment

Recent Examples on the Web Speakers stop abruptly and pop up in the next paragraph; snappy asides and transitions appear as enjambments — pushing the pace forward like the ding of a typewriter carriage. — J. Howard Rosier, Vulture, 10 Mar. 2023 Each enjambment creates a lively imbalance, nudging us into the next line. — Brad Leithauser, WSJ, 11 Feb. 2022 Her book works because her blank verse, with its seemingly unstudied enjambments, is supple yet pared down. — Dwight Garner, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2017 These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'enjambment.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.

When we talk, we pause to breathe. We don’t do this randomly. Instead, we take breaths at natural breaks in a sentence. The same is true with poetry. Caesura and enjambement) are commonly used techniques that explain how poetry uses those pauses. Both are alternatives to stopping at the end of a line. A caesura refers to a pause added into a line of poetry, whilst enjambment removes a pause from the end of a line to allow two or more lines to be read together. Contents: • • • • • • • Understanding Caesura The term caesura (pronounced "seh-zoo-rah" in American English) dates from the mid-16th century. It comes from the Latin caes which means to cut. In Greek, Latin, and Anglo-Saxon verse, it refers to a break between words in a A caesura can appear in different places within a line. If it is near the start, it is called an initial caesura. The most common type, known as Medial caesura, is found near the middle. Terminal caesura is a pause at the end of the line. Sometimes you will find caesurae (the plural of caesura) marked with two vertical lines when a poet wants to draw attention to the pause, but generally it is not marked at all. In the examples below, I have used the marks || so that it is clear where the pause should go. Masculine and Feminine Caesura Caesurae are divided into two groups, feminine and masculine. A feminine caesura is found after an unstressed short syllable. This creates a soft and gentle effect that feels natural. There are two instances in this li...

• English Literature • American Poetry • One Hundred Love Sonnets XVII One Hundred Love Sonnets XVII "One Hundred Love Sonnets: XVII" is a sonnet by Pablo Neruda, the Chilean poet and politician, in 1959.A sonnet is a classical form of poetry that consists of fourteen lines and is written in iambic pentameter, which means an unstressed syllable is followed by a stressed syllable. It is considered one of Neruda's most famous pieces and speaks of his love… One Hundred Love Sonnets XVII • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •...

Definition of Enjambment Enjambment is a term used in poetry to refer to lines that end without punctuation and without completing a sentence or clause. When a poet uses enjambment, he or she continues a sentence beyond the end of the line into a subsequent line or lines. Enjambment is also sometimes thought of as the running on of a thought beyond a line or While enjambment is used more or less solely within the confines of discussing poetry, it can be applied to analyzing speech patterns as well. Consider the way humans say sentences naturally—we often pause in the middle of ideas or phrases, whether to emphasize a particular word or thought, to pivot toward a different conversational direction, or simply to consider what to say next. There is a popular children’s clapping game that makes use of enjambment called “Miss Susie.” Each stanza of the Miss Susie had a steamboat, the steamboat had a bell. Miss Susie went to heaven and the steamboat went to Hell– O, operator, Please give me number nine And if you disconnect me I’ll kick your be– ’hind the ’frigerator, there was a piece of glass Miss Susie sat upon it and broke her little… Enjambment may seem like it belongs more to the era of free not a term applied to While it may seem like a poet can break a line wherever he or she pleases, accomplished poets use enjambment very intentionally. Usually the line that is created through enjambment holds it own meaning even though it is not a complete syntactical thought. We will ...

Enjambment Definition What is enjambment? Here’s a quick and simple definition: Enjambment is the continuation of a sentence or clause across a line break. For example, the poet John Donne uses enjambment in his poem "The Good-Morrow" when he continues the opening sentence across the line break between the first and second lines: "I wonder, by my troth, what thou and I / Did, till we loved? Were we not weaned till then?" Some additional key details about enjambment: • The opposite of an enjambed line of poetry is an does fall at the end of a line of poetry. • Enjambment has the effect of encouraging the reader to continue reading from one line to the next, since most of the time a line of poetry that's enjambed won't make complete sense until the reader finishes the clause or sentence on the following line or lines. • Poets often use enjambment to introduce ambiguity or contradiction into an otherwise straightforward sentence: the incomplete clause might suggest something that the following line(s) reject. This is often true in poetry written since the end of the 18th century. How to Pronounce Enjambment Here's how to pronounce enjambment: en- jam-ment How to Tell If a Line is Enjambed Sometimes, whether or not lines of poetry are enjambed or end-stopped will be obvious because the punctuation (or lack of punctuation) will make it obvious. But punctuation is not always a good guide to enjambment: it's better to judge whether a line is enjambed by its syntax. Clear Instance...

Looking to spice up your writing? Poetic devices are the salt and pepper (and, if you get really into them, the saffron and caraway) of writing; when deployed effectively, they add flavor and texture to your work. But what is a poetic device? Do they only work in poetry? In this article, we’ll cover what they are, when you can use them, and how to better understand their function in any literary form! What Is a Poetic Device? At its most basic, a poetic device is a deliberate use of words, phrases, sounds, and even shapes to convey meaning. That sounds so broad that it could basically encompass any form of written expression, but poetic devices are generally used to heighten the literal meaning of words by considering sound, form, and function. There are a lot of poetic devices, just as there are a lot of literary and rhetorical devices. Anything that impacts the way a poem or other written work looks or sounds is a type of poetic device, including devices that are also classified as Consider your writing—whether it’s an essay, poem, or non-fiction article—as a meal you’re cooking. You use good ingredients and put a lot of care into the dish, so you know it’s going to taste good. But there are ways to make it taste even better, little additions that can bring out the taste of each ingredient to make it even tastier—a pinch of salt, a touch of cumin. That’s what poetic devices do. Like the metaphor I used in the last paragraph, poetic devices infuse literal meanings (what w...