There are two kinds of tags: container and empty. The container tag always wraps around text or graphics and comes in a set with an opening and a closing.
<html> opening tag
</html> closing tag
Notice the forward slash (/) on the closing tag. This tells the browser that the tag has ended.
On the other hand, the empty tag stands alone. The tag <br> is one that adds a line break. Empty tags do not have to be wrapped around text and do not require a closing.