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Enjambment In 'The Names' By Billy Collins

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Enjambment is used in Billy Collins’ poem, “The Names”, to create a flowing sound that mimics the flowing of the water droplets as they “fell through the dark” (Collins 7). While some authors’ style is short lines, this device nevertheless allows the writer to continue his sentence throughout multiple lines, rather than creating limitations for his thoughts at line breaks. Enjambment can help to produce a stronger rhythm in the poem, in addition to reinforcing the ideas articulated by the author; it also adds to the weight of the poem in that it emphasizes the continuity of the feelings evoked by the words. Although this section of the poem is centered on water and how it relates to the names of the dead from the tragedy that was 9/11, the

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