Question

why do you think the poem consists of short broken lines? what effect does this have on reading it aloud?​

Answer 1

Explanation:

A short line slows the reading and increases the drama. A long line speeds the reading and augments feeling. Medium-length lines (6–8 words) tend to be more neutral and are useful when neither drama nor feeling are the main effect you're after.

Less obvious but equally important is how Siken uses his line breaks to amplify or diminish sound. Often when we think of line breaks and sound, we think of the rhyme and meter of formal poetry, such as these lines from William Wordsworth's “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.”

Answer 2

Writers use line breaks because it's part of what makes a poem a poem. By inserting more white space into the text, poets are able to exercise a greater degree of control over the speed and rhythm at which their poetry is read, thereby distinguishing it from both everyday language and prose literature.