As I kept mentioning line breaks in creative writing classes, someone asked me how these worked (Hallelujah! Or, possibly, 'Urk!'). So I sat down to dash off a quick one-page document on the topic. Six pages later, I decided to call a halt to the insanity.

The question is not really about line breaks at all, it seems to me. The question is: What is a Line of Poetry? I ended up pontificating under a few possible headings. I won't bore you with anything but the headings. Yet.

1. A line of poetry is a unit of sense
2. A line of poetry is a musical phrase
3. A line of poetry is an utterance
4. A line of poetry is a single card, dealt face-up
5. A line of poetry is a visual effect

Each poet favours a particular combination of these, perhaps. Perhaps the perfect line is the one which combines all of them. Poems can be even more interesting when they play with these ideas.