Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. The continuation of a syntactic unit from one line or couplet of a poem to the next with no pause.
Wiktionary
- n. A technique in poetry whereby a sentence is carried over to the next line without pause.
WordNet 3.0
- n. the continuation of a syntactic unit from one line of verse into the next line without a pause
Etymologies
- French enjambement, from Old French enjamber, to straddle : en-, causative pref.; see en-1 + jambe, leg; see jamb.
Examples
“Both poems are written in free verse and make ready use of what is called enjambment, that is, the abrupt continuation of a sentence from one line into the next.”
“With its misty sentiment and odd word enjambment, that first lyric casts its shadow across all 44 minutes of the record.”
“It reminded me of the concept in poetry of "enjambment" where the implied silence at the ends of lines can be crafted to carry meanings that nuance, augment, or contradict readings that obey the conventions of punctuation.”
“There’s regular enjambment, which is part of traditional poetry and is almost always a bad idea, but especially in sonnets—and then there’s what’s known as ultra-extreme enjambment.”
“So the flaring grandeur gathers, and in one of the most illogical but nevertheless satisfying descriptions, he makes another parallel simile and with the stretching effect of an enjambment, reaches out to crush.”
“Mr. Mehrotra's cunning deployment of enjambment—the breaking of a phrase or sentence across a poetic line—propels us from one line to the next, re-enacting, in the four-line opening sentence, the way the mind pieces together the meaning of the world from the messages of the senses, before knocking it out with the clean, flat declaration of the line that follows.”
“Neither actor used "poetry voice," and both actors honored enjambment and privileged sense over rhythm.”
“Whatever you do, it's just an enjambment of your stanza.”
“Their hushed melodic instrumentation pulls you in and pushes you through a current of audio samples, lingering guitar riffs and melodic enjambment (much of which is accompanied by actual samples of the ocean).”
The Huffington Post: Angora Holly Polo: The Problem of Leisure: Special UMS 2010 Edition
“Jim Murdoch presents Do you break, jam or snip? posted at The Truth About Lies, saying, A discussion of different approaches to enjambment.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘enjambment’.
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Prosody
Your terms and additions are welcome.
headless iamb, tailless trochee, dibrach, disyllable, trisyllable, tetrasyllable, pyrrhus, iamb, trochee, choree, choreus, tribrach and 173 more...
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Favorite Words
Fun words that are interesting and arresting.
Ort, unctuous, panoply, defenestrate, palpable, ubiquitous, flagellate, serendipitous, epiphanic, constructivist, amuse bouche, sobriquet and 30 more...
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Poetry Terms
April is National Poetry Month. Add your favorite poetry terms to this new list!
alliteration, anapest, alexandrine, caesura, assonance, ballad, blank verse, iamb, conceit, couplet, consonance, dactyl and 22 more...
vanishedone Oui, d'accord. It will feel less ill at ease in the august company of the likes of zeugma and properispomenon if it looks imposingly foreign. Dec 7, 2007
rolig Thanks VO, that's interesting, but I still think I will stick with the French enjambement. I don't think I can bring myself to say en-JAMB-ment. Dec 7, 2007
vanishedone That's also what I remember from secondary school only a few years ago.
dictionary.reference.com/browse/enjambment cites the Online Etymology Dictionary: '1837, from enjamb (1600), from Fr. enjamber "to stride over," from jambe "leg."' If that's correct then the terminal e was dropped from the verb before the noun was coined in English, and the French form developed separately. Dec 7, 2007
rolig When was this word anglicized? When I was in college in the 1970s, I am sure it was always spelled enjambement and pronounced as a French word, with three nasal vowels and zh for the j - which made it fun saying, of course. Dec 7, 2007
reesetee Oh, I almost forgot how much I like this word! Apr 26, 2007