Why Is Poetry Broken into Lines? (And How I Figured it Out)

Poetry is easily recognizable for the way it's broken into lines--but why it's broken into lines is more of a mystery. In this video, I tell you about how I first learned how lines work in poetry, and I show you an exercise to help you start thinking about your lines more intentionally.

0:00 Introduction
3:05 From Bad Lines to No Lines
4:39 Epiphany
5:43 Working with Better Lines
10:09 Conclusion

[stevecarter]

If they're talked about this stuff at school i might not have been an engineer after all. Fascinating glimpse into the alchemy of expressive writing

[gettingthere]

Thanks for this!! “Top amateur poetry mistakes” and also mixed metaphors would be helpful to learn more about!!

[losthylian]

I don't know how a poetry video ended up as a suggestion when I was deep into F-Zero 99 highlights, but now I'm 4 videos deep into understanding and appreciating poetry. I fell asleep last night both brainstorming a poem and humming the Mute City theme!

[SotraEngine]

How is this?


I woke up too early
For a Saturday

Tight-coiled pain seething
Along the curve of my skull
Into my neck

The pain hollowed out by Aspirin

I settle into the love seat
The water sloshes
The dryer bumps and hums
From the other room
Robins and sparrows chatter
Outside in the trees

Under a light blanket's
Easy warmth
I close my eyes
Willing to surrender
A few minutes of sleep
Before getting to work

I wait
Watching the lightening
And darkening
As patchy clouds slide beside the sun

And still
Still
I wait

[valvihk]

I took a poetry class in college and all we did was share our work and get feedback from peers. When I asked our professor if we were going to learn meter and things like that, she gave me crazy eyes lol. She was into modern poetry rather than classics. So, nobody really learned anything. All of my peers expressed discomfort, students wanted their poetry to be understood, and students could not understand each others poetry. The only thing I learned in that class was to let go and allow my peers to have an experience of my work even if that experience wasn't intended. I am here because of Rupi Kaurs "poetry." Even though, I know that her work is not poetry cus all she did was take a shower thought sentence and break it into lines to call it poetry. I still have difficulty understanding what those lines are for other than rhyme. This was really well done, but I hope you could make more parts on this subject like what is the intent of spacing between the lines as well?

[YourPoetryMom]

I’ve recently watched several of your videos, and this one was especially thought-provoking. As a poet, I often drive myself crazy wondering where I should break the lines (if it’s free verse)… 😅😩

[snowdragon]

haha the i have to admit the takes are funny. Skullie was right to keep them in haha. On another note, I feel the same about shorter lines tend to have more energy. I will have to write a prose poem and break it up into lines. Great video!

[pedropedroso]

Just discoverd your channel and I am amazed!Fantastic content!

[shubhidixit]

Thanks for this Andrew. You are a blessing.

[ocdtdc]

Love this channel and very grateful for the lessons learned from it.

[theoneandonlyfool]

I always thought poets were being annoying but now I get it 😅thank you

[jainilsheth]

Thank you for the channel and the content on poetry, it has been very helpful 😊

[adrct]

Yep. Yours is the best YouTube channel on poetry. Thanks.

[Jesus_Christ.Mary-and-Joseph]

Hi Andrew! I always appreciate your patience and explanation in detail about educational topics that you have done weekly basis. It has been eyes opening moments in each video. 🙌 😊 Thank you so very much for your and your teams. 😊 Please Keep Up the Great work. 🎉

[Jane-zphy]

Thank you very much! You have helped me to enjoy reading and listening to poetry in English a lot more and understand it. I'm an African and anything that was not in the Gospels in the Catholic schools I attended was regarded as pagan and forbidden. Your lessons are liberating.

[ejtattersall]

Poem broken into lines

Anyone who knows anyone
who did what she did
knows that no man, no woman,
no nothing caused her death
but what was within her, and
what she had tried to do before,
she would try again,
and eventually succeed
no matter the transgressions against her,
or no transgressions at all, and
those left behind cannot sleep,
no, they cannot sleep,
though they cannot speak of their sleeplessness,
of black sleep,
dreams wiped to save the conscious mind
from breaking,
no, even those at the greatest distance from her--
them--in geography, or friendship or family--
anyone at any distance from anyone who did what she did,
blames themselves because blame is not a thought,
or a set of reasons,
but a feeling that never goes away.

Ramble, ramble, say I'm rambling,
but I know, I know what I should not know,
and maybe I should just have said from the outset
what one of them once said:
"Oh, well, whatever, never mind."

Original prose poem

Anyone who knows anyone who did what she did knows that no man, no woman, no nothing caused her death but what was within her, and that what she had tried to do before, she would try again, and eventually succeed no matter the transgressions against her, or no transgressions at all, and those she leaves behind--they leave behind--those left behind cannot sleep, no, they cannot sleep, though they cannot speak of their sleeplessness, of black sleep, dreams wiped to save the conscious mind from breaking, no, even those at the greatest distance from her--them--in geography, or friendship or family--anyone at any distance from anyone who did what she did, blames themselves because blame is not a thought, a set of reasons, but a feeling that never goes away. Ramble, ramble, say I'm rambling, but I know, I know what I should not know, but maybe I should just have said from the outset what one of them once said, "Oh, well, whatever, never mind."

[richardglady]

Thank you for the lessons. Does the skull accompany you to the classroom. Everyone needs comic relief.

[matthewalton]

I have something like 1, 500 poems piled up in notebooks of various shapes and sizes. I've always wondered if the contours of the poem were unduly influenced by the dimensions of the page. I'll try your exercise tomorrow and I'll return with a full report.

[smithdraws]

It didnt occur to me that line structure could have so much effect on the meaning and reading experience!

[abstractbybrian]

How you can break a poem down like you do, boggles my mind…I don’t how I’ll ever get there…