Written for:  Poets and Storytellers United – Weekly Scribblings #17:  “For Certain,
It’s Enjambment”  (posted by Sanaa)
“Enjambment: Meaning, Use and Function

French in origin, Enjambment means to step over or put legs across. It can be defined as a thought or sense, phrase or clause, in a line of poetry that does not come to an end at the line break, but moves over to the next line. In simple words, it is the running on of a sense from one couplet or line to the next without a major pause or syntactical break.

The function of enjambment in poetry is typically to allow an idea to continue beyond the limitations of a single line, often to reinforce certain ideas within the lines themselves.

It can be used to create the element of surprise for the reader by delaying the meaning until the next line, some writers use it for purpose of bringing humor into their work.

She fell madly in love
ten times at least. The first
was a beast, the second,
a cheat. She gave her heart
to each of them. They all broke it
every time. How to trust love
ever again. Then she thinks
of the fevered anticipation
blushing her cheeks ripe
peach, and accelerated heart
beats. She wonders if it might be
worth it.

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