"Make it New!": Free Verse in American Literature

Paper Summary:

This paper describes the writer's personal journey in search of the origins and nature of free verse. In search of a definition of free verse, the writer finds that the only requirement agreed upon is that it lack a formal pattern of meter. Its origins go back at least as far as Homer and other Greek writers, who frequently diverged from regular patterns of meter and rhyme in their writings. The writer examines the social, cultural, technological, and political issues that caused free verse to take off in popularity and give life to the first two major poetic movements of 20th century America: Modernism and its sub-movement, Imagism. The writer draws parallels between free verse and modern life and concludes that this study brought about the realization that free verse is anything but free and the writing of it is far more challenging than the writer had first imagined.

Outline
Introduction
What is Free Verse?
Leaves of Grass, King James, and the French Connection
Free Verse Comes Back to America
Conclusions
What I Thought I Knew and How My Opinions Have Changed

From the Paper:

"Before starting this investigation I, like many others I suspect, assumed that free verse naturally had its beginnings solely in America. That it was a product of our rebellious national psyche that manifested itself in the form of a new movement in poetry; one that broke loose from the old traditions and tempos of lyrical writing. It appears however, that once again I was mistaken. Well, not so much mistaken, but rather I was shortsighted. For free verse has gone through several reincarnations spanning centuries and continents. The final re-birth being the one that took place in America in the early 20th century which resulted in free verse as we know it today."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Attridge, Derek. Poetic Rhythm: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
• Beyers, Chris. A History of Free Verse. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2001.
• Finch, Annie. The Ghost of Meter. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1993.
• Free Verse. 2007. University of Pennsylvania. 26 Feb 2008 <http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/88/freeverse.html>.
• Fussel, Paul. Poetic Meter and Poetic Form. 2nd ed. New York: Random, 1977.

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