Free Verse Seemed Democratic Because It Offered

The Basic Rhymes In English Are Masculine, Which Is To Say That The Last Syllable Of The Line Is Stressed: "lane" Rhymes With "pain", But It Also Rhymes With "urbane" Since The Last Syllable Of "urbane" Is Stressed. "lane" Does Not Rhyme With "methane".

At Somewhere Around 10 Syllables, The English Poetic Line Is At Its Most Relaxed And Manageable.

Among Those Today Who Believe That Modern Poetry Must Do Without Rhyme Or Metre, There Is An Assumption That The Alternative To Free Verse Is A Crash Course In Villanelles, Sestinas And Other Such Fixed Forms. But Most... Are Rare In English Poetry. Few Poets Have Written A Villanelle Worth Reading, Or Indeed Regret Not Having Done So.

It Normally Happens That If You Put Two Words Together, Or Two Syllables Together, One Of Them Will Attract More Weight, More Emphasis, Than The Other. In Other Words, Most So-called Spondees Can Be Read As Either Iambs Or Trochees.

A Poem With Grandly Conceived And Executed Stanzas, Such As One Of Keats's Odes, Should Be Like An Enfilade Of Rooms In A Palace: One Proceeds, With Eager Anticipation, From Room To Room.