Why might a poet use enjambment?

Answer 1

it can add emphasis and highlight a key point, it can also make the impression that the time goes on and on, (in Perhaps by Vera Brittain, Brittain uses enjambment to show that she can't move on and she's still suffering from her loss)

Answer 2

Enjambement is a literary technique in which a phrase/clause/sentence is broken up by the end of a line or verse. For example, in the poem "I Too See America" by Langston Hughes, enjambement can be seen in several places:

"I'll be at the table

When company comes.

Nobody'll dare

Say to me,

'Eat in the kitchen,'

Then."

Another example of enjambement is in Pablo Neruda's "If You Forget Me":

"I shall lift my arms

and my roots will set off

to seek another land."

Instead of ending a thought at the end of a line, they are often carried over to the next line. This is the opposite of end-stopping, where thoughts end with the end of a line (often with punctuation too), for example in Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken":

"Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

...

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference. "

Enjambement can often achieve a more flowing effect, as it forces the reader to move onto the next line and continue momentum as opposed to stopping at the end of each line and having a more defined rhythm. It can also emphasize the part of the thought that has been carried over to the next line, as it sets that piece apart from the rest of the idea.

Answer 3

A poet might use enjambment to create a sense of flow and continuity in their poem by carrying a thought or sentence from one line to the next, adding a sense of surprise, adding complexity, or creating emphasis on certain words or phrases.

Answer 4

Enjambment is a poetic device in which a sentence is continued to the next line, phrase, or stanza without the use of a full stop or semicolon.

Answer 5

Because using enjambement creates emphasis on a particular word or phrase