Endjambent?

[billy]

No, it definitely is not limited to between stanzas. Shockingly, Websters does not have a sufficient definition.

which is what i surmised. i'm actually seeing something i hadn't really known. when i said "good enjambment" in a reply to a poem, i wasn't always correct. now however i'll be more able to comment on good or bad (for me) enjambment.

Some forms require or encourage enjambment between stanzas, such as the Sapphic ode. Some practically forbid it, like the ghazal. These restrictions are in place because the form is designed for a particular purpose and the entire structure goes toward fulfilling that purpose. In free verse, where there are no rules about structure, it is even more important to learn what the purpose of the line break is, not just for enjambment. In free verse, line break and enjambment come to mean pretty much the same thing and it's rather odd to hear people saying that they don't get it, when they're doing it all the time.

i usually do the line break where punctuation should be; a comma, or period etc. but while that seems okay, it needs a little more attention to detail for it to good.

Enjambment isn't mysterious. It's used to create tension between what the reader expects and what the poem delivers. This tension encourages the reader to think, just as using interesting and unique metaphors rather than cliches forbids reader complacency.

now i see it it's easy to understand but till now it wasn't as easy as you say honest. this thread really has opened my eyes to it.

AJ suggested something to do with it in a poetry practice thread. is anyone up for setting some easyish parameters?

thanks for the elucidation guys.