Some of the formal features in Juliana Spahr’s poem, “Tarpaulin Sky”, include line length, the use of lists, and the use of we. In Spahr’s poem, different line lengths are useful because they allow the reader to more easily develop a sense of what the line in the poem is talking about. Shorter lines are more impactful and give the reader a straight meaning of what the line is, without giving the reader a full interpretation. While shorter lines have less information, the reader can interpret their own meaning more. Longer lines have more detail, which gives the reader what the meaning of the line is more, although it still leaves open some room for interpretation. Another formal feature that is used throughout Juliana Spahr’s poem are the
