Verse versus Nonverse: A Research Note
Two rhymed and metered messages were re-written to remove those poetic qualities of thyme and meter without otherwise changing the messages. A rhymed version of one message and an unrhymed version of the other message were read by 158 college students who then evaluated the authors by checking “yes” or “no” to whether each author was “probably a professional communicator” and “probably college-educated.” They also rated each author on a set of semantic differential scales. Analysis indicated that the authors of rhymed and metered messages enhance their “images” by using the poetic form.