Verbless poetry

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A verbless poem is a poem without verbs. [1] Ezra Pound's "In a Station of the Metro" is a verbless poem of fourteen words:

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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). [2] Otto Jespersen observed that the absence of verbs can give "a very definite impression of motion." [3] It has been called "poetry without any dress, without ornament". [4]

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References

  1. "From A Poet's Glossary: Verbless Poetry | Academy of American Poets". www.poets.org. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  2. Hirsch, Edward 'A Poet's Glossary', Houghton Mifflin London 2012 ISBN   9780151011957
  3. Jespersen, Otto, 'Role of the Verb, Selected Writings'. 1912 ISBN   9780203857199
  4. Hearn, Lafcadio 'Lecture' Imperial University, Tokyo, Japan