Movement in Poetry, Part Three 

Jammin' the Lines

 By Patty Zion, Staff Editor 

By now, your poems fairly run off the page, as you implement the previous two weeks' lessons about active verbs and nouns with implied movement.  Now we will look at the form of the poem, including line breaks and flow. 

Flow is one of those easy-off-the-tongue words that sometimes mean absolutely nothing.  On Internet posting and reviewing sites, many reviewers who have no knowledge of poetry write reviews like this:  "Good work - it flows well. I can't find anything I would change." 

Of course this is no help at all.  However, flow is an important factor in a work of poetry.  We want the reader to glide through the poem without stopping to water the cactus or change the two-day-old guitar strings!  We want the reader to feel involved in the story line or imagery - to participate in the work, at least in an emotional way.  

Enjambment (pronounced en-jamm-ment) will help to accomplish this goal.  When we enjamb a thought, we carry it across lines.  Instead of stopping a phrase or sentence at the end of a line, we keep it going into the following line or stanza.  It is a continuation of the idea without stopping - without bringing the reader to a pause at the end of each line.  

In my poem titled The Shoulder Incident, the first stanza is completely end-stopped:  

It happened very fast, that much I know;

I found myself face down in knee-high snow.

My Magic (springer spaniel, hunting breed)

proved way too much to handle on the lead.  

Each line ends with a completed phrase, and the punctuation - comma, semicolon, or period - helps to denote the pause and the end of the phrase.  

The second stanza, however, is almost completely enjambed:  

I didn't see it coming, never thought

I'd wind up with a limp arm and a hot

spasmodic pain all over my left side

from fifty pounds of canine - what a ride!  

In particular, the phrase and a hot / spasmodic pain demonstates the ability of enjambment to carry the reader's eye and ear quickly to the next line.  We are not accustomed to hearing the word hot at the end of a phrase, so the mind naturally wonders "hot what?" And, by design, the following line answers that question - a hot, spasmodic pain.   

Enjambment often creates a slightly off-balance feeling for the reader, which is one reason I chose to use it in this poem about a falling episode; it must be used carefully and sparingly.   

Wisely sprinkled through a metered poem, it can help to dispel the singsong feeling that many people find objectionable in traditional verse. Enjambment also provides a cure for the forced rhyme which many poets have trouble overcoming.    

In a similar way, added judiciously to a piece of free verse, it will add dimension and intelligence to the work.    

Total end-stops are the mark of a beginning poet, especially in today's world of modern approaches. Therefore, enjambment comes highly recommended by today's poetry analysts. However, the technique has existed for hundreds of years. Shakespeare used very little enjambment in his early works, but more in his later works. In fact, historians look at the quantity of enjambed lines as one factor in determining the dates of Shakespeare's poetry.   

Exercise:

Read this section of prose, considering the possibilities for line breaks and flow of ideas.   

Yesterday the physical therapist stretched my arm and shoulder farther than I could have imagined.  He said " I know that smarts."  No kidding, I thought.  But it has to be done, as it helps my movement in the long run. Without his help, I might be sitting around with no use of the arm, no flexibility, no strength.  Therapy is my strength. 

Now write the piece as a poem, incorporating enjambment and intelligent line breaks.  You might place the enjambed lines in such a way as to play with the reader a bit, or you might keep it more serious. If you'd like, change the punctuation or phrasing slightly to give the poem your unique voice. There is no right or wrong way to do it.   

Now, give your poem a title that reflects the way you made the lines work for you.  This exercise will help you to look at words and phrases in a new way.  The next time you find a poem just sitting there, you can give it a little nudge with a bit of enjambment.   

As it turns out, musicians aren't the only ones who enjoy "jam sessions."  So get your poetry up and running - start jammin' those lines.

Patty Zion
dazzleu@windstream.net