vers libre
- noun
- /vɛr liˈbrə/
- Literature
:
verso libre
- For reasons that would be too academic to go into here, this shift to vers libre represented a radical movement in Arabic letters as a whole, ending, as it did, a tradition of rhymed, rhythmic poetry of some fifteen centuries' standing.
Examples
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Many contemporary poets prefer vers libre because it offers greater freedom to explore their themes and ideas.
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The poet's latest collection features vers libre, showcasing the beauty of free verse without strict meter.
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In her class, she explained how vers libre allows writers to express emotions without being confined to traditional forms.
Synonyms
3
6.0
Poems that do not have regular rhyme or a steady beat
How Regular
31
2.5
- Literature
29
6.2
- Literature
1
7.7
- Literature
1
7.1
- Literature
Surface Forms
Morphology
vers + libre
The meaning 'poetry without regular meter' is directly and compositionally derived from 'vers' (verse) + 'libre' (free), equivalent to English 'free verse', so a learner who knows the constituent meanings can infer the MWE. However, both constituents are French loanwords and may be unknown to many English B1 learners, so recognition depends on knowledge of the source-language words.
Etymology
Vers libre comes from French and puts the words vers meaning 'line' and libre meaning 'free' together. Poets used this name when they stopped using set rhyme or a regular beat, so vers libre now means poetry with lines that are not tied to rhyme or a fixed rhythm.