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Silence can function as a deliberate literary device.
A poet may leave gaps, unusual spaces, broken lines, or unfinished phrases rather than filling every part of the page.
The reader is then encouraged to consider what isn't being said.
Spacing can also control pauses and rhythm when the poem is read aloud.
In experimental poetry, typography and blank space can carry meaning alongside the words.
The empty area isn't necessarily wasted space.
Sometimes what the poet leaves blank becomes part of what the poem communicates.
© Poetry Foundation