Final answer:
The final verse of a poem is often preceded by unique formatting and stylistic choices that emphasize the poem's themes, create buildup, or direct the reader's experience.
Step-by-step explanation:
Right before the final verse in a poem, poets often employ various literary techniques to create a buildup to the conclusion. This may include changes in line lengths, substitutions in punctuation, or the use of different stylistic devices such as enjambment or end-stopped lines.
For instance, in Wright's "A Blessing," enjambment is used at the penultimate line to bring a sense of surprise, leading to a powerful final verse. Similarly, in Yeats' editing of The Oxford Book of Modern Verse, he applied poetic formatting to prose, aiding in emphasizing certain poetic features such as rhythms and repeated patterns.
The formatting choices can be unique, as they are informed by the thematic and tonal demands of the poem, and help in creating a distinctive reading experience.
It is important to note that poets like Robert Browning and W.B. Yeats sometimes deliberately employ a casual tone or a seemingly unfinished thought to underscore a larger point about the intensity of the depicted memories or scenes before the final verse. In "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came," by Browning, the tone of the last line is deliberately casual, which stands in contrast to the intensity of previous stanzas and highlights the inconsequence of what follows after memorable events.
Furthermore, the arrangement of the final sentence over several lines, as seen in some poems, helps develop certain feelings or imagery, such as a burden or a long list. The existence of these patterns or changes is very intentional and contributes significantly to the impact of the poetry on the reader.
The choices regarding upper or lowercase letters at the beginning of lines, the use of punctuation, and the positioning of certain words are all examples of poetic craftsmanship directed at enhancing the audience's experience of the verse.