--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To understand Vers libre, one must…" description: "\"To understand Vers libre, one must abandon all desire to find in it the even rhythm of metrical feet. One must allow the lines to flow as they will whe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4b/amy-lowell-7892_abandon_to-understand-vers-libre-one-must-abando_2777393.png" --- # To understand Vers libre, one must abandon all desire to… ![“To understand Vers libre, one must abandon all desire to find in it the even rhythm of metrical feet. One must allow the lines to flow as they will when read aloud by an intelligent reader.” quote by Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4b/amy-lowell-7892_abandon_to-understand-vers-libre-one-must-abando_2777393.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4b/amy-lowell-7892_abandon_to-understand-vers-libre-one-must-abando_2777393.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4b/amy-lowell-7892_abandon_to-understand-vers-libre-one-must-abando_2777393.png) > “To understand Vers libre, one must abandon all desire to find in it the even rhythm of metrical feet. One must allow the lines to flow as they will when read aloud by an intelligent reader.” [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding free verse requires abandoning strict metric expectations and letting the poem’s natural rhythm guide reading. **In simple terms:** Free verse needs no strict meter; follow its flow. Key Takeaway Listen to a poem’s natural rhythm. Themes poetry literary analysis creativity Mood contemplative analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - reading poetry - creative writing Key Concepts form expression Questions to Reflect On - How does you affect your reading? - Can rhythm be felt without meter? A Different Perspective Some readers miss intended cadence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Flow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flow/) [Libre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/libre/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Rhythm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rhythm/) ## Related quotes > [“vers libre," (free verse) or nine-tenths of it, is not a new metre any more than sleeping in a ditch is a new school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/vers-libre-free-verse-or-nine-tenths-of-it-is-not-a-new-metre-any/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [To brand man with infamy, and let him free, is an absurdity that peoples our forests with assassins. \[Fr., Rendre l'homme infame, et le…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/to-brand-man-with-infamy-and-let-him-free-is-an-absurdity-that-2/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [In the free/libre software movement, we develop software that respects users' freedom, so we and you can escape from software that doesn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-stallman/in-the-free-libre-software-movement-we-develop-software-that-respects/) [Richard Stallman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-stallman/) > [I began to write what I called 'rhythms' ie unrhymed pieces with no formal metrical scheme where the rhythm was created by a kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-aldington/i-began-to-write-what-i-called-rhythms-ie-unrhymed-pieces-with-no/) [Richard Aldington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-aldington/) > [L'homme est condamne a' e" tre libre. Man is condemned to be free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/l-homme-est-condamne-a-e-tre-libre-man-is-condemned-to-be-free/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [Dark hair fell in a sweep over his forehead. He looked like a man who would write vers libre, as indeed he did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dark-hair-fell-in-a-sweep-over-his-forehead-he-looked-like-a-man-who/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ Esperando (Cuando Cuba Sea Libre) is probably one of the most personal songs from the new \[September, 2007\] CD, "90 Millas" . . .… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-estefan/esperando-cuando-cuba-sea-libre-is-probably-one-of-the-most-personal/) [Gloria Estefan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-estefan/) > [Long live free France.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-trudeau/long-live-free-france/) [Pierre Trudeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-trudeau/) > [I encourage you to find your punk-rock, your lucha-libre, your pro-wrestling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-dumas/i-encourage-you-to-find-your-punk-rock-your-lucha-libre-your-pro/) [Amy Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-dumas/) > [I love to walk through the streets of Jesus Maria and Pueblo Libre. The Spanish colonial buildings are in bright colors, two stories high,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-alarcon/i-love-to-walk-through-the-streets-of-jesus-maria-and-pueblo-libre/) [Daniel Alarcon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-alarcon/) > [When we fall utterly, something gathers us up. But our falling must be without reservation, without expectation, without hope, though not hopeless. You cant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-housden/when-we-fall-utterly-something-gathers-us-up-but-our-falling-must-be/) [Roger Housden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-housden/) > [I would leave at once, but it would be cruel to abandon a lady in a foreign land with a maniac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/i-would-leave-at-once-but-it-would-be-cruel-to-abandon-a-lady-in-a/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [However, however, if the goal is to abandon America's free enterprise economy, if the goal is to convert America into a submissive member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/however-however-if-the-goal-is-to-abandon-america-s-free-enterprise/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [The purpose of a spirit filled life is to demonstrate the supernatural power of our living God so that the unsaved multitudes will abandon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-l-osborn/the-purpose-of-a-spirit-filled-life-is-to-demonstrate-the/) [T.L. Osborn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-l-osborn/) > [Humans are, as Sartre put it, 'condemned to be free'. To insist that science, or God, objectively defines moral values is to abandon our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenan-malik/humans-are-as-sartre-put-it-condemned-to-be-free-to-insist-that/) Kenan Malik ## More by Amy Lowell > [Happiness, to some, is elation; to others it is mere stagnation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/happiness-to-some-is-elation-to-others-it-is-mere-stagnation/) [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) > [On the neck of the young man sparkles no gem so gracious as enterprise. Youth condemns; maturity condones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/on-the-neck-of-the-young-man-sparkles-no-gem-so-gracious-as/) [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) > [Sexual love is the most stupendous fact of the universe, and the most magical mystery our poor blind senses know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/sexual-love-is-the-most-stupendous-fact-of-the-universe-and-the-most/) [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) > [I do not suppose that anyone not a poet can realize the agony of creating a poem. Every nerve, even every muscle, seems strained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/i-do-not-suppose-that-anyone-not-a-poet-can-realize-the-agony-of/) [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) > [I shall go Up and down In my gown. Gorgeously arrayed, Boned and stayed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/i-shall-go-up-and-down-in-my-gown-gorgeously-arrayed-boned-and-stayed/) [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) > [Underneath my stiffened gown Is the softness of a woman bathing in a marble basin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/underneath-my-stiffened-gown-is-the-softness-of-a-woman-bathing-in-a/) [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) > [Poetry is the most concentrated form of literature; it is the most emotionalized and powerful way in which thought can be presented.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/poetry-is-the-most-concentrated-form-of-literature-it-is-the-most/) [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) > [How loud clocks can tick when a room is empty, and one is alone!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/how-loud-clocks-can-tick-when-a-room-is-empty-and-one-is-alone/) [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) > [Only those of our poets who kept solidly to the Shakespearean tradition achieved any measure of success. But Keats was the last great exponent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/only-those-of-our-poets-who-kept-solidly-to-the-shakespearean/) [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) > [“Christ! What are patterns for?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/christ-what-are-patterns-for/) [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) > [Poets are always the advance guard of literature; the advance guard of life. It is for this reason that their recognition comes so slowly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/poets-are-always-the-advance-guard-of-literature-the-advance-guard-of/) [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) > [Witches are moon-birds, Witches are the women of the false, beautiful moon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/witches-are-moon-birds-witches-are-the-women-of-the-false-beautiful/) [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) > [I should like to bring a case to trial: Prosperity versus Beauty, Cash registers teetering in a balance against the comfort of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/i-should-like-to-bring-a-case-to-trial-prosperity-versus-beauty-cash/) [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) > [Not a softness anywhere about me, Only whalebone and brocade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/not-a-softness-anywhere-about-me-only-whalebone-and-brocade/) [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) > [Youth condemns; maturity condones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/youth-condemns-maturity-condones/) [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) [Explore all 84 Amy Lowell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) ## More Abandon quotes > [Humans are, as Sartre put it, 'condemned to be free'. To insist that science, or God, objectively defines moral values is to abandon our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenan-malik/humans-are-as-sartre-put-it-condemned-to-be-free-to-insist-that/) Kenan Malik > [The purpose of a spirit filled life is to demonstrate the supernatural power of our living God so that the unsaved multitudes will abandon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-l-osborn/the-purpose-of-a-spirit-filled-life-is-to-demonstrate-the/) [T.L. Osborn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-l-osborn/) > [However, however, if the goal is to abandon America's free enterprise economy, if the goal is to convert America into a submissive member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/however-however-if-the-goal-is-to-abandon-america-s-free-enterprise/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [I would leave at once, but it would be cruel to abandon a lady in a foreign land with a maniac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/i-would-leave-at-once-but-it-would-be-cruel-to-abandon-a-lady-in-a/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [When we fall utterly, something gathers us up. But our falling must be without reservation, without expectation, without hope, though not hopeless. You cant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-housden/when-we-fall-utterly-something-gathers-us-up-but-our-falling-must-be/) [Roger Housden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-housden/) > [every subjective phenomenon is essentially connected with a single point of view, and it seems inevitable that an objective, physical theory will abandon that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/every-subjective-phenomenon-is-essentially-connected-with-a-single/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [Can you dissolve your ego? Can you abandon the idea of self and other? Can you relinquish the notions of male and female, short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/can-you-dissolve-your-ego-can-you-abandon-the-idea-of-self-and-other/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Every great thing starts with an idea, followed by a doubt and finally a resolve to abandon or pursue. Victory is a treacherous journey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/every-great-thing-starts-with-an-idea-followed-by-a-doubt-and-finally/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [Those who have been once intoxicated with power, and have derived any kind of emolument from it, even though but for one year, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/those-who-have-been-once-intoxicated-with-power-and-have-derived-any/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Do not lose hope; St. Joseph also experienced moments of difficulty, but he never lost faith and was able to overcome them, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/do-not-lose-hope-st-joseph-also-experienced-moments-of-difficulty-but/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Don't give up because things are hard, but work harder, when you think of giving up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/don-t-give-up-because-things-are-hard-but-work-harder-when-you-think/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [Sex is not the ultimate high, but the ultimate high hangs out around sex. The ultimate high is the dance with another person, played…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/sex-is-not-the-ultimate-high-but-the-ultimate-high-hangs-out-around/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [I care so deeply about this matter that I'm willing to take on the legal penalties, to sit in this prison cell, to sacrifice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-care-so-deeply-about-this-matter-that-i-m-willing-to-take-on-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I've been to unpretty places with the roles I've played, and I'm attracted to reckless abandon. I like being taken to the edge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhys-ifans/i-ve-been-to-unpretty-places-with-the-roles-i-ve-played-and-i-m/) [Rhys Ifans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhys-ifans/) Browse all 1,142 Abandon quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To understand Vers libre, one must abandon all desire to find in it the even rhythm of metrical feet. 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