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Punctuation and Line Breaks – 3

Enjambments

Enjambments conversely run into each other and make meaning in conjunction with each other rather than independent units like end stopped lines.

Consider the opening lines of

Milton’s “Paradise Lost”

Of man's first disobedience, and the fruit
Of that that forbidden tree ...

Enjambments are also called run on lines as they “run into” each other. "Run on lines" run forward in sense and punctuation into the next line, like the opening line of Milton's "Paradise Lost:" shown above.

Enjambment is the breaking of a linguistic unit (phrase or sentence) by the end of line between two verses. It is in contrast with end stopping, where each linguistic unit corresponds with the line length. As stated in Class 1

Consider this

Shakespeare Sonnet number 11

As fast as thou shalt wane, so fast thou grow'st
In one of thine, from that which thou departest;
And that fresh blood which youngly thou bestow'st,
Thou mayst call thine when thou from youth convertest.
Herein lives wisdom, beauty, and increase;
Without this folly, age, and cold decay:
If all were minded so, the times should cease
And threescore year would make the world away.
Let those whom nature hath not made for store,
Harsh, featureless, and rude, barrenly perish:
Look whom she best endow'd, she gave the more;
Which bounteous gift thou shouldst in bounty cherish:
She carv'd thee for her seal, and meant thereby,
Thou shouldst print more, not let that copy die.

This sonnet uses heavy enjambment. Usually an enjambment is marked by the use of a comma, colon or semi-colon. As you can see Lines 1, 2, 3, 4 are all enjambed while line 4 is an end stopped line.

Enjambments can be cleverly used in a poem to make it more interesting and even create a feeling of suspense which prompts the user to go and read the next line to see what happens. It also stops a poem from being just a sequence of related sentences.
Meaning flows from line to line, and the reader's eye is pulled forward. Enjambment creates a feeling of acceleration, as the reader is forced to continue reading after the line has ended.

Enjambments are used to smoothen the edges of a poem and make it flow more fluidly. Also when a line of thought is too large to fit into a single line, enjambment is used to split it into more than one line.

– Continued 

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