English literature

The development of the novel as a literary form has inexorably changed the nature of English poetry. As the popularity and respectability of the prose form grew, modern English poetry began to shed its dependency on rigid formal conventions until it, too, took on a prose-like quality.

We can see this in the rise in popularity of blank verse in the 19th century, and in such seminal free verse and lyrical poets as Walt Whitman. The rise in popularity of free verse and lyrical poetry in the 20th century only underscores the influence of the novel, and other prose forms, on English poetry.

I think it's important to point out that much of our modern English poetry continues to adhere to traditional poetic conventions.