<P> In poetry, enjambment (/ ɛnˈdʒæmbmənt / or / ɛnˈdʒæmmənt /; from the French enjambement) is incomplete syntax at the end of a line; the meaning runs over from one poetic line to the next, without terminal punctuation . Lines without enjambment are end - stopped . </P> <P> In reading, the delay of meaning creates a tension that is released when the word or phrase that completes the syntax is encountered (called the rejet); the tension arises from the "mixed message" produced both by the pause of the line - end, and the suggestion to continue provided by the incomplete meaning . In spite of the apparent contradiction between rhyme, which heightens closure, and enjambment, which delays it, the technique is compatible with rhymed verse . Even in couplets, the closed or heroic couplet was a late development; older is the open couplet, where rhyme and enjambed lines co-exist . </P>

The continuation of a line of poetry to the next line without punctuation or pause