Free verse Technique in Modern English Poetry: Subject Review

Asst. Lect. Hawraa Fadil Raheef

doi:10.31185/lark.4978

Authors

Asst. Lect. Hawraa Fadil Raheef Al-Qadisiyah University/Collage of Education/ Department of English

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31185/lark.4978

Keywords:

Free Verse technique, Walt Whitman, and Ezra Pound

Abstract

The current paper is a subject review. It relies on the review style by which it offers some of the studies that handle the free verse technique. It also looks at the application of free verse in contemporary English poems. The rise of free verse in modern English poetry marked a radical departure from traditional metrical and rhyming structures, allowing poets greater suppleness in expression and form. It became an important vehicle through which writers could capture the rhythms of natural speech, explore fragmented identities, and reflect the complexities of contemporary life. This paper also sheds light on key prominent English figures including Walt Whitman, Ezra Pound, T. S. Eliot, and William Carlos Williams who developed innovative approaches that emphasized imagery, cadence, and psychological depth over formal constraint. The free verse technique not only democratized poetic language but also opened a space for experimentation that continues to influence contemporary poetry. The study of this technique highlights how modern English poetry negotiates the tension between tradition and innovation, reshaping the boundaries of poetic form to mirror the fluidity of modern experience. Thus, Free verse plays an essential role in redefining poetic form and expression. It is characterized by its liberation from traditional metrical and rhyming constraints. It concludes that free verse, far from being unstructured, it demands precision and deliberate craftsmanship that reflects the complexities of contemporary life.

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