Free verse is a type of poetry. It is associated with structural freedom – formal rules of poetic structure do not apply here. The only rule is that there are no rules!
What is a free verse poem?
A free verse poem is a poem with verses that are irregular in length and rhyme – if they rhyme at all. This type of poetry can be considered a reflection of everyday speech patterns, which may sometimes rhyme. A rhyming metric is not intentionally added to the poem, yet if it happens to rhyme then that is acceptable. Free verse poetry is a type of organic poetry.
How to analyse free verse poetry
As with all types of poetry, try to grasp what the poem is saying as a whole. When analysing poems, one thing to consider is the tone of the poem – does it sound like there is a narrator? Is there a reason the poem does or does not have stanzas? What does the presence or lack of stanzas say about the poem?
Examples of free verse poetry
Let's now consider some examples of free verse poetry.
Emily Dickenson’s ‘Come Slowly, Eden’ (1919)
Come slowly, Eden
Lips unused to thee.
Bashful, sip thy jasmines,
As the fainting bee,
Reaching late his flower,
Round her chamber hums,
Counts his nectars—alights,
And is lost in balms!
Analysis of 'Come Slowly, Eden'
Dickenson is famous for free verse poetry. ‘Come Slowly, Eden’ has no consistent rhyme scheme and no consistent metric pattern. As is typical of free verse poetry, this poem follows the rhythms of natural speech. The poem has two stanzas, with the second and fourth verses rhyming. The ‘Eden’ Dickenson speaks of is likely to be the biblical 'Garden of Eden'.
Langston Hughes’ ‘Mother to Son’ (1922)
Well, son, I’ll tell you:
Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.
It’s had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor–
Bare.
But all the time
I’se been a-climbin’ on,
And reachin’ landin’s,
And turnin’ corners,
And sometimes goin’ in the dark
Where there ain’t been no light.
So boy, don’t you turn back.
Don’t you set down on the steps
‘Cause you finds it’s kinder hard.
Don’t you fall now–
For I’se still goin’, honey,
I’se still climbin’,
And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.
Analysis of 'Mother to Son'
Hughes’ poem has a narrative tone. The direct address to the reader with ‘son’ (verse 1) and ‘you’ occurs a few times in the poem. The poem doesn’t have any stanzas. Since it is a poem without breaks, this may be intended to reflect the analogy of the stairs being used to describe life. It is difficult to get off stairs midway through your journey – you have to keep going to get to the top or bottom. The lines vary in length, with the shortest being ‘Bare’ (verse 7) and this emphasises the lack of ‘cushioning’ (no carpet), the lack of support we can experience in life.
Free verse poem structure
Free verse poetry does not have any structure. That is why it is called free verse. For this reason, it also does not follow rules about line-length, and there do not have to be a set number of lines. A line in a free verse poem can be one word long, or it can be many words long. Free verse poems can have stanzas, but there are no rules. The choice the writer's.
The effect of free verse
Free verse poetry is that it allows for greater freedom in expression. Since there is no restriction in rhyme or metric pattern, you can use the tools of sounds, words and rhythm however you wish, depending on what you want to convey.
Walt Whitman and free verse poetry
Walt Whitman is considered one of the pioneers of free verse poetry. He was an American poet (1819-1892) whose influence on free verse was the promotion of a spontaneous rhythm with instances of repetition, such as those found in the Old Testament. Whitman's works were controversial at the time. One of his most controversial works is the collection Leaves of Grass (1855), which he reworked throughout his life until his death. Leaves of Grass was considered explicitly sensual at the time of publication. This collection of poems explores Whitman's philosophy of life, humanity, the intricacies of nature and one's role in it. The thematic focus is on the material world and the human body, and there is no rhyming or regular line length in the poems.
Here is a short excerpt of one of the poems from the collection, 'Song of Myself':
I CELEBRATE myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.
I loafe and invite my soul,
I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.
My tongue, every atom of my blood, form'd from this soil, this
air,
Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and their
parents the same,
I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin,
Hoping to cease not till death.
Analysis of 'Song of Myself'
This is the most famous poems in the collection. It details the concept of the individual and the idea of connection between individuals. Any regularity in line length, in rhythm, and pace are features that are not evident regularly throughout the poem. Consider the tone of the poem – it sounds like the running thoughts of a person considering his position as an individual, then in relation to others and then in relation to nature. Whitman chose a subject matter, he allowed his thoughts to run free on that subject matter, forming a story of sorts.
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