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Is the poem “Retort” by Paul Laurence Dunbar free verse or formal verse?

User Pierry
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1 Answer

3 votes

Answer: I believe it to be formal verse.

Step-by-step explanation:

Formal verse is the name given to rhymed poetry that uses a strict meter. I googl ed the poem and it rhymed every other sentence and had a sort of beat to it.

Just to clarify, this is the poem I got when I searched it on Goog le:

"Thou art a fool,” said my head to my heart,

“Indeed, the greatest of fools thou art,

To be led astray by the trick of a tress,

By a smiling face or a ribbon smart;”

And my heart was in sore distress.

Then Phyllis came by, and her face was fair,

The light gleamed soft on her raven hair;

And her lips were blooming a rosy red.

Then my heart spoke out with a right bold air:

“Thou art worse than a fool, O head!”

User Frosty
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