诗体的一种。其体结构自由﹐段数﹑行数﹑字数没有一定规格;语言有自然节奏而不用韵。在西方以美国诗人惠特曼为创始人。我国"五四"以来的新诗也流行这种诗体。
自由诗又称新诗，这是相对旧体诗而言的。它在章节、音步、押韵等方面都比较自由、灵活，没有格律诗那样严格、固定的限制和约束。
一般认为，美国19世纪诗人惠特曼是自由诗的创始者,代表作《草叶集》。
五四前后，自由诗开始在我国流行，如郭沫若《女神》、胡适、刘半农、徐志摩（“新月派”）
自由诗是白话文学领域中的先行者，它的产生可以看作是五四新文学和五四文学革命开端的标志。五四运动前旧体诗词的腐朽最为明显，反映在思想内容上无病呻吟言之无物；在形式上又死死坚守着陈腐不变的格律。为此，胡适明确指出：形式上的束缚，使精神不能自由发展，使良好的内容不能充分表现......五七言八句的律诗决不能容丰富的材料，28字的绝句决不能写精密的观察，长短一定的七言五言决不能委婉表达出高深的理想和复杂的感情。......近来的新诗发生，不但打破七言五言的诗体，并且推翻词调曲谱的种种束缚，不拘格律，不拘平仄，不拘长短，有什么题目，做什么诗，诗该怎么做就怎么做（胡适《谈新诗》）。这一主张，成为后来白话新诗创作的经典理论。
自由诗从旧式诗词格律的镣铐里脱胎而出，在体式、音节、语言方面力求解放，显示出新的特色：
首先是破除僵化陈腐文言，以白话加入诗行。尤其是提倡以接近大众口语的简洁亲切的俗字俗语取代文言的艰涩滥调，实写社会状况，表现真挚的感情和崭新的思想。
其次是在音节韵律上破除旧体诗词的声韵、格律平仄，废除骈偶典故等僵化的束缚，讲究切合自然音乐而不必拘于音韵（康白情《新诗之我见》），诗歌的声气音节轻重缓急、抑扬顿挫只求合乎诗人自身情绪感兴的自然消涨和语气的自然节奏。
另外，在体式上有意追求一种无拘无束自由自在的表达方式。不为格律音韵所束缚，毫无顾忌的倾吐心里的东西，诗既不分行也不押韵，即使分节分行也完全按照作品内容而随意排列，以此形成了自由诗艺术形式上的主要特点。自由诗在思想内容上最引人注目的特点，便是对被压迫被奴役的下层工农劳动者的悲惨命运，表现出深切的同情和关怀。前所未有的以大量篇幅，展现了他们现实人生的苦难，以此来揭示旧社会贫富尖锐对立和封建专制的本质特征。
另一显著特点是在反封建专制种种旧传统旧观念的精神禁锢和束缚的主题上更多地寄寓着渴求个性自由解放、独立不阿的意义。这一特点又集中地体现在以汪静之和冯至为代表的爱情婚姻题材的自由诗创作中。他们赤裸裸地表述男女青年在恋爱上的欲望和要求，毫无拘束地自由放肆地歌唱自己的青春爱情，清澈见底地倾吐和展露五四青年不受传统道德观念束缚的内心深处的自由向往和个性解放要求，表现出一种蔑视旧礼教的叛逆姿态和对婚姻对自由的如火如荼的热切向往，真正地显示出五四要求个性自我解放的时代主题。
自由诗中也有一些赞美劳动意义，歌颂劳动人民优良品质，抒写对理想社会和光明前景憧憬的作品，这些作品尤为可贵的思想特征是往往在赞美的文字里透露出反封建的主题和乐观明朗积极进取的倾向，体现出新的时代精神。
还有相当数量的写景抒情短诗，诸如冰心、宗白华的那些诗意幽美的小诗，虽然不如揭示劳苦大众悲惨命运和歌唱追求爱情自由反叛封建旧礼教的诗篇深刻动人，但它们开掘和探索人生的意义，并由此展示出这方面的苦恼迷惘感伤和愤懑，同样映照出时代的投影，并且在思想感情的表现上尤为真挚细腻新颖，显得别有意味。
自由诗的不足也非常明显：一方面诗的语言和形式自由自在地开放缺乏应有的约束，自由成章，语风散漫，总显得平铺直叙，一览无余。这种过分直露和明快的毛病不仅使诗作本身缺乏应有的意境和充沛深刻的感情，也从整体的构成上丧失了诗歌的美感，并且损害了在冲破旧体诗词镣铐的基础上兴起和发展起来的白话新诗的信誉和地位。另一方面以太多太盛的说理入诗，使理念多于情感，这亦反映出诗人体验生活的肤浅和对诗歌抒情特点的幼稚把握。与此相联系的是，那些描述社会人生苦难生活的诗作的写实手法也较肤浅，多以旁观姿态和一些生活表象的罗列堆集手法，因而缺乏对现实社会的细致观察和更深刻的分析，这些都是自由诗的通病。
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.