How to Use Poetic Devices: Enjambment

Welcome to my new series: How to Use Poetic Devices!

I gave a presentation to the Editors Tea Club on poetry editing a few weeks ago, and there was lots of interest in enjambment since it's a device that isn't discussed much. Thus the idea of a series was born!

What is enjambment?

Enjambment is a device where poets divide an idea by line breaks. It's usually used to create ambiguity and double meanings.

Here is one of my favorite examples of enjambment. Williams uses it to create so many emotional twists, moving back and forth from hope and despair.

Between Walls by William Carlos Williams

the back wings

of the

hospital where

nothing

will grow lie

cinders

in which shine

the broken

pieces of a green

bottle

General tips for how to introduce enjambment:

Experiment ending lines with:

Adjectives

Verbs

Nouns

Compound words

Subvert expectations:

What might people think will come next? Surprise them.

Here's an example:

Looking out across the bright blue

rug on the library floor

A reader might assume a body of water will come next, not a rug. Library rugs might invoke a different emotion than a body of water would.

Read your poem out loud to yourself or a critique partner. If you pause at the end of a line, does your brain try to fill in something else, perhaps a preconceived notion or cliche? Play with that!

I hope this was helpful! If you have a suggestion for another poetic device for me to cover, please feel free to comment below or reach out to my social media.

Need a poetry editor who knows their stuff? Here is my service information! I offer copy editing, proofreading, and poem ordering.

Happy writing and, if you're reading this around the time it's published, happy holidays!