Syllabic verse stress accent (as English does). This means that the French metric line is generally determined by the number of syllables. The most common metric lengths are the ten-syllable line ("décasyllabe"), the eight-syllable line ("octosyllabe") and the twelve-syllable line (the so-called "alexandrine"). Special syllable counting rules apply to French poetry. A silent or mute 'e' counts as a syllable before a consonant, but not before a vowel (where "h aspiré" counts as a consonant). When it falls at the end of a line, the mute "e" is hypermetrical (outside the count of syllables). Polish syllabic verse is similar to French. The
Free verse spaced prose, a mosaic of verse and prose experience. Free verse Free verse is an open form of poetry. It does not use consistent meter patterns, rhyme, or any musical pattern. Poets have explained that free verse is not totally free: "Its only freedom is from the tyrant demands of the metered line." Free verse displays some elements of form. Most free verse maintains the poetic convention of the poetic line to some degree, at least in written representations, Donald Hall goes as far as to say that "the "form" of free verse is as binding and as liberating as