The Linebreak


A line has three points of strength: its beginning in correlation with the prior line's end, its end in correlation with the next line's beginning, and its strength as a separate unit in the narrative development.

The first two points are points of emphasis; the first word, or possibly phrase, is emphasised by its primary position. Likewise, the word or phrase at the end of the line receives emphasis. Both of these points in a line form a logical link: the ending of a line leads on to the beginning of the next, particularly if enjambed. This allows a twist in meaning to be achieved by the break. At this point things become a little vaguer, since both 'meaning' and subsequently 'twist' are difficult to pin down. The twist may come in a pun, a shift of narrative focus, a change in sonics, in voice, or simply something worth emphasising.

The third point is the strength of the line as a unit. A line should in its own way advance the narrative of a poem significantly and, depending on the poem's strategy, encompass some aspect of it (this is really vague, and what an 'aspect' of a poem is can be left pretty much up to subjectivity). This is why 1 word lines are so tricky, since they have to include all three of those points in such a small space.