Final answer:
Free verse is a form of poetry that eschews regular rhythm and rhyme scheme, instead employing irregular metrical patterns, occasional rhyme, and thematic or syntactic repetition to create cohesion and convey meaning.
Step-by-step explanation:
What is Free Verse?
Free verse is a type of poetry that does not follow a regular rhythm or rhyme scheme. Free verse poems may appear to have no set pattern, organization, or rhythmic beat, which can give them a conversational tone reminiscent of ordinary speech. However, in the hands of skilled poets, free verse can include occasional meter and rhyme, along with thematic and syntactic repetitions, to create coherence and structure within the open form.
While traditional poetry relies on consistent meter, such as iambic pentameter in blank verse, or on rhyming schemes to tie its lines together, free verse allows for greater flexibility. It does often evoke rhythm and cadences that resemble natural speech patterns, and its structure may be shaped by repetitions of images, syntactic structures, or semantic themes rather than by consistent metrical feet or rhyme.
Modern poets frequently use free verse to capture the nuances of tone and voice, achieving effects that might be constrained by the more rigid structures of traditional forms. Some liken the writing of free verse to 'playing tennis without a net,' as it requires poets to create form without the prescriptive boundaries of traditional metered verse. Notable for its absence of meter, free verse poetry focuses on the aesthetic and rhythmic qualities of language to convey its message and evoke emotion.