In my poetry class, we had to answer this question. The answer seemed so confusing at the time, but the definition of free verse is loosely a poem possessing some poetry terms, but without meter, though it may possess rhyme, but does not have to.
Free verse is written without thought to the structure, most often, and is, actually, a rather complicated part of poetry. Free Verse is currently the most popular form of poetry. Poets all around us use it every day to convey something, describe, and to present us with vivid images.
Free Verse allows a certain freedom that other forms don't, but it is also easy to become stuck in that style or develop your own style of free verse and get stuck in it. Which is just what this writer has done. You see, Free Verse allows for a different way of writing. If you have ever read a book written in poetry form, most of the poems were probably free verse with a few rhyme and meter poetry thrown in. Though, ballads are poems which are pages long and tell a complete tale, few people write them anymore. However, it has been believed that a ballad was the right of passage for a poet and still is by some today.
Free Verse can be used in the form of a "ballad" as well, though, without as much flow and possibly with more clarity. I have recently read something that states that the person does not view Free Verse as a form of poetry. But it is. I used to write only in traditional rhyme and meter, which limited my growth as a poet as much as just writing in Free Verse. By sticking to rhyme and meter, you may not be able to capture the attention of many of the audience show might be otherwise interested in yor poetry.
Imagery, broken or staggerd rhyme, and several other poetry devices are all affectively used in Free Verse. There is a reason that you learn the term "Free Verse" when you study poetry. Let's not forget that. Free Verse is as much a work of art as any rhyme and meter poem.
What is the difference between Free Verse and Poetry? ((Don't shoot me for expressing what I think and what I was TAUGHT.))
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