First established by noted French poets during the late nineteenth century, free verse has been a popular form of poetry for over a hundred years. Rimbaud, Laforgue, Viele-Griffin, and other French poets began a literary revolt against the strict rules of their culture's verse, which dictated specific patterns of rhyme and meter. Free verse has no "rules" per se, although many poets who use it may create their own patterns within poems, usually in regard to controlled rhythm as opposed to rhyme or meter.

Contemporary free verse is a label that addresses content more than style. By the mid-twentieth century, poets, fiction writers, and other artists started expressing themselves through language and subject matter previously considered taboo—most notably, references to sexual activity, violence, and personal emotions, as well as the use of slang words to describe them. In sum, free verse is more liberal than...