Poetry Hacks

Block Form

What is it? Where a poem is written as a single block of text, rather than being divided into stanzas. What effect does it usually have? Poems in block form tend to feel heavier and more intense; block form also helps create a strong sense of cohesion. What else should I look out for? Since English sonnets tend to be written in block form, poems of a similar, but longer or shorter, length tend to resemble sonnets when laid out this way.

An example of how it works … ‘The Young Bride’ by Langston Hughes:

They say she died — I do not know, They say she died of grief And in the earth-dark arms of Death Sought calm relief, And rest from pain of love In loveless sleep

In this one-sentence poem, Hughes uses block form to create a fitting weight and seriousness, in spite of its short lines and overall brevity.

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