詩體的一種。其體結構自由﹐段數﹑行數﹑字數沒有一定規格;語言有自然節奏而不用韻。在西方以美國詩人惠特曼為創始人。我國"五四"以來的新詩也流行這種詩體。
自由詩又稱新詩，這是相對舊體詩而言的。它在章節、音步、押韻等方面都比較自由、靈活，沒有格律詩那樣嚴格、固定的限製和約束。
一般認為，美國19世紀詩人惠特曼是自由詩的創始者,代表作《草葉集》。
五四前後，自由詩開始在我國流行，如郭沫若《女神》、鬍適、劉半農、徐志摩（“新月派”）
自由詩是白話文學領域中的先行者，它的産生可以看作是五四新文學和五四文學革命開端的標志。五四運動前舊體詩詞的腐朽最為明顯，反映在思想內容上無病呻吟言之無物；在形式上又死死堅守着陳腐不變的格律。為此，鬍適明確指出：形式上的束縛，使精神不能自由發展，使良好的內容不能充分表現......五七言八句的律詩决不能容豐富的材料，28字的絶句决不能寫精密的觀察，長短一定的七言五言决不能委婉表達出高深的理想和復雜的感情。......近來的新詩發生，不但打破七言五言的詩體，並且推翻詞調麯譜的種種束縛，不拘格律，不拘平仄，不拘長短，有什麽題目，做什麽詩，詩該怎麽做就怎麽做（鬍適《談新詩》）。這一主張，成為後來白話新詩創作的經典理論。
自由詩從舊式詩詞格律的鐐銬裏脫胎而出，在體式、音節、語言方面力求解放，顯示出新的特色：
首先是破除僵化陳腐文言，以白話加入詩行。尤其是提倡以接近大衆口語的簡潔親切的俗字俗語取代文言的艱澀濫調，實寫社會狀況，表現真摯的感情和嶄新的思想。
其次是在音節韻律上破除舊體詩詞的聲韻、格律平仄，廢除駢偶典故等僵化的束縛，講究切合自然音樂而不必拘於音韻（康白情《新詩之我見》），詩歌的聲氣音節輕重緩急、抑揚頓挫衹求合乎詩人自身情緒感興的自然消漲和語氣的自然節奏。
另外，在體式上有意追求一種無拘無束自由自在的表達方式。不為格律音韻所束縛，毫無顧忌的傾吐心裏的東西，詩既不分行也不押韻，即使分節分行也完全按照作品內容而隨意排列，以此形成了自由詩藝術形式上的主要特點。自由詩在思想內容上最引人註目的特點，便是對被壓迫被奴役的下層工農勞動者的悲慘命運，表現出深切的同情和關懷。前所未有的以大量篇幅，展現了他們現實人生的苦難，以此來揭示舊社會貧富尖銳對立和封建專製的本質特徵。
另一顯著特點是在反封建專製種種舊傳統舊觀念的精神禁錮和束縛的主題上更多地寄寓着渴求個性自由解放、獨立不阿的意義。這一特點又集中地體現在以汪靜之和馮至為代表的愛情婚姻題材的自由詩創作中。他們赤裸裸地表述男女青年在戀愛上的欲望和要求，毫無拘束地自由放肆地歌唱自己的青春愛情，清澈見底地傾吐和展露五四青年不受傳統道德觀念束縛的內心深處的自由嚮往和個性解放要求，表現出一種蔑視舊禮教的叛逆姿態和對婚姻對自由的如火如荼的熱切嚮往，真正地顯示出五四要求個性自我解放的時代主題。
自由詩中也有一些贊美勞動意義，歌頌勞動人民優良品質，抒寫對理想社會和光明前景憧憬的作品，這些作品尤為可貴的思想特徵是往往在贊美的文字裏透露出反封建的主題和樂觀明朗積極進取的傾嚮，體現出新的時代精神。
還有相當數量的寫景抒情短詩，諸如冰心、宗白華的那些詩意幽美的小詩，雖然不如揭示勞苦大衆悲慘命運和歌唱追求愛情自由反叛封建舊禮教的詩篇深刻動人，但它們開掘和探索人生的意義，並由此展示出這方面的苦惱迷惘感傷和憤懣，同樣映照出時代的投影，並且在思想感情的表現上尤為真摯細膩新穎，顯得別有意味。
自由詩的不足也非常明顯：一方面詩的語言和形式自由自在地開放缺乏應有的約束，自由成章，語風散漫，總顯得平鋪直敘，一覽無餘。這種過分直露和明快的毛病不僅使詩作本身缺乏應有的意境和充沛深刻的感情，也從整體的構成上喪失了詩歌的美感，並且損害了在衝破舊體詩詞鐐銬的基礎上興起和發展起來的白話新詩的信譽和地位。另一方面以太多太盛的說理入詩，使理念多於情感，這亦反映出詩人體驗生活的膚淺和對詩歌抒情特點的幼稚把握。與此相聯繫的是，那些描述社會人生苦難生活的詩作的寫實手法也較膚淺，多以旁觀姿態和一些生活表象的羅列堆集手法，因而缺乏對現實社會的細緻觀察和更深刻的分析，這些都是自由詩的通病。
A verse. The structure free, the number of segments ﹑ ﹑ words without a certain number of rows specifications; language has a natural rhythm without rhyme. In the West, the poet Walt Whitman as the founder of the United States. My "54" is also popular since the poetry of this verse.
Also known as free verse poetry, this is a relatively Classical purposes. Its chapters, foot, rhyme and so are more free, flexible, and not as strict metrical poems, fixed the limits and constraints.
Is generally believed that the United States 19th century poet Walt Whitman was the founder of free verse, masterpiece "Leaves of Grass."
54 before and after the epidemic in China began to free verse, such as Guo, "Goddess," Hu Shi, Liu Bannong, Xu ("New Moon")
Free Verse Poem from the shackles of old bodiless inside out, in style, syllable, seeks to liberate language to show the new features:
First, break old classical rigid, in order to join the vernacular verse. Particularly close to public speaking to promote the simple kind of folk characters saying to replace the abstruse classical cliché, actually wrote the social situation, the performance of sincere feelings and new ideas.
Second, the break in rhythm syllables rhyme words Classical, Classical tonal pattern, such as abolition of the rigid parallelism allusions binding, pay attention to music without having to meet the natural arrest at the phonological (Baiqing "Poetry My Opinion"), complain poetry syllable priorities, self-assured just to meet the emotional sense of the poet's own natural fluctuation Hing natural rhythm and tone.
In addition, the style is deliberately pursuing a unfettered free expression. Metrical phonology is not fettered the pouring heart of things with impunity, neither branch nor rhyming poetry, even if sub-section branch is fully in accordance with the works of the contents of arbitrary order, thus forming a major art form of free verse characteristics. Free verse in the ideological content of the most striking feature is on the lower deck of the oppressed workers and peasants enslaved the tragic fate of the workers, showing deep sympathy and care. Unprecedented for a lot of space to show their real life suffering, in order to reveal the rich and the poor old society sharply divided and the essential characteristics of the feudal autocracy.
There are also some praise poem free labor sense, praised the working people good quality, and describe an ideal society and look forward to a bright future works, these works are particularly valuable feature is often thought of writing in praise in the theme of anti-feudal revealed clear positive and optimistic aggressive tendencies, reflecting a new spirit of the times.
Paint a portrait of a substantial number of lyric poems, such as Bing Xin, Zong of those beautiful and poetic verses, while revealing the working class as the tragic fate and freedom singing rebel pursuit of love poems old feudal ethical code profound and moving, they dig and explore the meaning of life, and thus show the distress this confusion sadness and anger, the same projection reflects the times, and sincere thoughts and feelings are particularly fine performance of the novel, seem special meaning.