A verbless poem is a poem without verbs. Ezra Pound's "In a Station of the Metro" is a verbless poem of fourteen words:
- The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
- Petals on a wet, black bough.
Afanasy Fet produced two other classics of the genre: "Storm in the evening sky" (Буря на небе вечернем, 1842) and "Whisper, timid breathing" (Шепот, робкое дыханье, 1850). Otto Jespersen observed that the absence of verbs can give "a very definite impression of motion." It has been called "poetry without any dress, without ornament".
See also
References
- "From A Poet's Glossary: Verbless Poetry | Academy of American Poets". www.poets.org. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
- Hirsch, Edward 'A Poet's Glossary', Houghton Mifflin London 2012 ISBN 9780151011957
- Jespersen, Otto, 'Role of the Verb, Selected Writings'. 1912 ISBN 9780203857199
- Hearn, Lafcadio 'Lecture' Imperial University, Tokyo, Japan
External links
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