Literary Terms

Enjambement: When in poetry the end of the grammatical clause fails to coincide with the end of the verse or line, and runs on to the next line, this condition of affairs is called enjambement, as, e.g. --

'We are such stuff
As dreams are made of, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.'

It is a necessary condition of the freer and more natural flow of language which dramatic verse requires, and was extensively employed by the great Elizabethan playwrights in their maturity.

How to cite the article:
Vivian, Percival. A dictionary of literary terms. London: G. Routledge & sons. 1900. Shakespeare Online. 20 Aug. 2010. (date when you accessed the information) < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/literaryterms/enjambement.html >.

_________

Related Articles

Examples of Shakespeare's Use of Enjambement

Shakespeare's Metaphors

Shakespeare's Imagery: Similes

Top 10 Shakespeare Plays

Shakespeare Characters A to Z

Pronouncing Shakespearean Names

How many plays did Shakespeare write?

Shakespeare Quotations (by Play and Theme)

Shakespeare on Marriage

The Greatest Love Poem in English