Enjambment

Enjambment

By Thomas Sutherland

1. The cat sat

   on the mat.

2. The cat
   sat on the mat.

​How does it feel?

Open Ended

The cat sat

on the mat.

The cat
sat on the mat.

How do these two lines feel different when you read them?

​Enjambment: When a sentence or thought in a poem runs over from one line to the next without a pause or punctuation at the line break.

​"I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high"

​​"Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate."

​A

​B

Effects:

• Enjambment can create surprise, tension, or a sense of movement.

• End-stopping feels complete or deliberate.

​Guided Practice: Analyzing Enjambment

Open Ended

April is the cruellest month, breeding

Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing

Memory and desire, stirring

Dull roots with spring rain.

Where do you see enjambment in the above quotation? How does it affect the poem’s flow or mood?”

Open Ended

Batman, now I've doffed that off-the-shoulder

Sherwood-Forest-green and scarlet number

for a pair of jeans and crew-neck jumper;

now I'm taller, harder, stronger, older.

What’s one thing that enjambment does to Robin's voice in the quotation above?