Free Verse Poem - Definition and Examples on How to Write It

Introduction to Free Verse Poem

A free verse poem is said to be the simplest yet difficult form of poetry. The strange aspect about this poem or poetry is that it gives the writer free will without applying any rules. But in return, free verse poetry demands his or her work which is hard and creative enough to come up with a beautiful as well as natural piece of writing with the absence of any particular guidelines about meter and rhyme.

If somebody is keen in writing free verse poem then he or she is suggested to follow a certain set of tips which aren’t rules or law but they will help the writer to initiate and develop their own style of writing.

Things to Write a Free Verse Poem About

While writing a free verse poem, be wise and intelligent in choosing words that will help you in creating a meaningful poem targeting a special emotion, situation or object. Appropriate choice of words portrays exactly what you are striving to say. For example, short words carrying vigilant consonants force the one reading to focus in a rough cadence; bash, cut, kick, stop, bite, lick, jump, punch, kiss, stick. These words sound more or less in a way they mean.

By using these types of short words, you can easily represent different feelings like fear, excitement, passionate love, anger or something that fastens the beat of your heart rapidly. Whereas, words that are long and necessary to use slower down the reader so it’s always suggested to use such words in a sentence where tension, pause, rest or laziness is required.

Is Free Verse Poetry Hard to Write?

The answer to this question is strange but true. It is hard and challenging to write a poem which doesn’t follow any format or have a certain set of rules along with a structure. It’s entirely up to the writer who has a free hand to write in whatever way he is comfortable with. The challenge is worth taking. You can be innovative and get the motor of your brains started by coming up with an exciting poem without involving any sort of pattern or rhythm. Don’t be disappointed if your poem is different as compared to other poems.

Keep your spirits high and stick to the fact that teaches one thing about poem; every poem is not all the time fun and rhyming isn’t meant for everybody. Stupendously, your poem is frantically unique and an embracing depiction of you. As flawless patterns are not part of our lives, poetry does not carry them either.

Steps to Write a Free Verse Poem

Let’s suppose, you are given an assignment of writing a free verse poem and you have zero knowledge about what and how to write. Never panic and keep it as simple as you are writing ABC or 123. With utter devotion, you will land an A. main point that a writer should preserve in his or her mind; write wholeheartedly, imagine and pick your likeable topic and add some pleasingly catchy fun material that can polish your poem dragging you into a prideful situation.

Find Examples on how to write a limerick poem

Settle on a Theme or Event

Think and stick to a natural yet wondrous topic for instance, heavenly mountains, peaceful oceans, cool glaciers or a waterfall.

Choose Your Desired Keywords

Once you have confidently chosen and locked the topic of your choice, come up with ideal and keywords for fitting in the picture you have fancied at that very stage.

Begin Writing Your Poem Around the Selected Keywords

Begin creating your poem; a spectacular aspect of a free verse poem is that the writer doesn’t importantly have to concentrate on constructing a poem that rhymes unlike other poems. What really matters while writing this poem is that the poem should be in a flow and catchy to the readers sight and mind such as the eye-catching waterfall.

Follow the Main Theme

Noteworthy point in this step is the construction of free verse poem which is supposed to be written vertically and not in the form of a paragraph. So with a focused mind, keep on creating new lines after two, three, four or more phrases.

The Five Senses Trick

Incorporation of five senses is also essential. In order to inject pleasantness and charm in your poem, dedicate each line to one sense or simply sprinkle the spark of these senses in your poem overall. This enchanting addition of senses will help the reader comprehend and understand what scene or image your poem is trying to portray. Stay devoted to your work and experience satisfactorily the reaction of the audience which will definitely be appreciable and positive.

Types of Free Verse Poetry

The best thing about a free verse poem is that there are no rules. You can write about anything in any way you like. Free verse poetry is the best way to let out your thoughts in a totally free, yet poetic way. Your topics can range from life, death, love, hatred, even frustration, any exciting moment or a moment full of agony. As you delve more into the free verse poetry, you will start to notice though that there are some certain types that can be assigned to every kind of free poem.

Some very common types of free verse poetry are:

1. Narrative Poem

This kind of a poem narrates a story, hence the name, narrative poem. A poem of this kind has its own many phases. It often begins with an action taking place which resonates to a climax point ad then finally comes to a resolution. A narrative poem requires clear description and often metaphors.

2. Anecdote

Anecdotes are often used as a form of poetry that encapsulates the truth. These kinds of poems usually describe an experience or an episode that is funny or interesting in some way.

3. Lyrical Poem

In a lyrical poem, the poet uses sound effects of some sort to create a mood and imagery about the incident being explained. It is centred more around the poet’s personal feelings about a particular idea, experience or a person.

4. Meditative Poem

A meditative poem is one that is written in a way to evoke meditation in the mind of the reader. This is done by describing a scene in a beautifully poetic manner that is strong enough to trigger imagination. This kind of poem requires the use of metaphors, simile and line breaks.

5. Image Poem

An image poem heavily uses language that is more appealing in the sense of smell, taste, touch, hearing and sight which can then be used in the description of an image.

6. Confessional Poem

This is more of an autobiography, except that it is poetic in nature. It demonstrates the poet’s thoughts, feelings, confessions and ideas, serving as a window to the poet’s mind and psyche.

7. Prose Poem

A poem that uses complete sentences and stanzas in the form of paragraphs is called a prose poem. A prose poem often describes the topic in the form of a clear image and is lyrical in nature.

8. Elegy

An elegy is a traditional form of poetry that is used by many contemporary poets in which they bewail the death of someone close to them. It reflects serious emotions and comprises of metaphors and line breaks.

Free Verse Poetry in Modern Times

As the world moved on from the 20^th century, it shed away the idea of formal verse gradually as poets did not feel the need of meter, rhyme and other formal features that helped in the comprehension of poetry. The idea of free verse felt more appealing to poets as it comes free of restrictions and limitations that are otherwise inflicted by the use of meter and rhyme, leaving the poets free to determine their own form of the poem. In the modern times, however, most contemporary poets use free verse merely for the sake of flowing with the norm.

Free Verse Poems About Life

A topic that many poets choose to base their poetry on is life. Life is full of possibilities and aspects that allows the poet to be as expressive as he or she wants. Moreover, poems about life are often written from the poet’s own perspective and his take on things, often circling around their own life experiences, feelings or thoughts.

Some free verse poems about life are:

Move On

Sometimes you have to let people go,
to preserve your sanity,
guard your health,
protect your heart.

Sometimes those people are family,
especially family,
because they know
what buttons to push.

Sometimes you have to forgive, release,
and move on.

By Joanna Fuchs

Free Verse Poem for Kids

Free verse poetry is often an interesting task for kids, as they find it harder to stick to the rules of writing. It can also be a very good way to intrigue them towards reading poetry, as kids are most likely to understand and enjoy free verse poetry.

Some free verse poems for kids are:

Splishy, Sploshy Mud

Splishy, sploshy mud
is the best type of crud!
You can make pies,
you can make mountains,
you can make giant skies,
just with splishy, sploshy mud!

By Ava F. Kent

My First Day of School

Weird feelings all around me,
Kids staring right through me.
Who is she?
What is she doing here?
Is she new?
Is it them or is it me?
My stomach is grumbling,
I am so nervous.
Mom, where are you?
Where are my old friends?
I feel like I am nowhere….
A part of me wants to run back.
Why did we move, Dad?
I feel ever so bad.
I hope this is all a dream and I go back.

By Jivantikka De

Free Verse Poems About Nature

Nature has specially been a very keen topic among poets of all times. Nature is beautiful and attracts praise and of course, what better way to describe the beauty of such a timeless and immortal thing as nature except poetry and words?

Some examples of free verse poetry about nature are:

All Nature Has A Feeling

All nature has a feeling: woods, fields, brooks
Are life eternal: and in silence they
Speak happiness beyond the reach of books;
There’s nothing mortal in them; their decay
Is the green life of change; to pass away
And come again in blooms revivified.
Its birth was heaven, eternal it its stay,
And with the sun and moon shall still abide
Beneath their day and night and heaven wide.

By John Clare

Top Famous Free Verse Poems

Any list that contains the best and the greatest of its kind obviously almost always involves personal opinions and everyone’s unique tastes, but there are some classics that always make it to the top and are often a favourite among the majority.

Some of the famous free verse poems that have been treasured by many are as follows:

The Pool

Are you alive?
I touch you.
You quiver like a sea-fish.
I cover you with my net.
What are you—banded one?

By H.D.

Risk

And then the day came,

when the risk

to remain tight

in a bud

was more painful

than the risk

it took

to blossom.

By Anais Nin

Real Silence

I longed for real silence
the kind you can’t find
but stumble upon
in some cabin
somewhere
on a lake without a moon
where you hear the cigarette burn
and the candles flicker
and your mind dances alive
to the symphonies in the black.

By Atticus

When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer

When I heard the learn’d astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,
When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.

By Walt Whitman

Come Slowly, Eden

Come slowly, Eden
Lips unused to thee.
Bashful, sip thy jasmines,
As the fainting bee,

Reaching late his flower,
Round her chamber hums,
Counts his nectars—alights,
And is lost in balms!

By Emily Dickinson

Free verse writing is a great way to unleash your creative and poetry skills, without worrying about the rules and regulations. If you make up your mind to get into the art of writing poetry, free verse is probably the best way to start.

Step by Step Guide on How to Write a Free Verse Poem