Verse is writing arranged with a metrical rhythm, typically having a rhyme. It is the opposite of prose. Verse is the building block of poetry, though not all poetry is verse. Free verse has rhythm but no fixed meter or rhyme.

Verse can be simple or complex. Nursery rhymes are verse. Epic poems are verse. Song lyrics are verse. The term can also refer to a single line of a poem, or to a stanza, or to a group of lines in a song. In music, a verse is a section that alternates with a chorus. In poetry, verse is the form that uses line breaks and rhythm to create meaning. A line break can change how you read a sentence. It can create suspense or emphasis. Verse is not just prose cut into lines. It is a different way of organizing language. It makes you hear the words as well as read them.

In different contexts

• Poetry: metrical writing
• Song: section between choruses
• Drama: Shakespeare’s blank verse
• Free verse: rhythm without fixed meter