Blank verse is a literary device defined as un-rhyming verse written in iambic pentameter. As a feature in poetry and prose, it has a consistent meter with ten syllables in each line (otherwise known as pentameter). In this, unstressed syllables are followed by stressed ones, five of which are stressed but do not follow a rhyme scheme. A blank verse poem has no stanzaic length and contains measured language and verse. However, it is not measured by rhyme itself.
Blank verse was very popular amongst romantic English and contemporary American poets and is said to be the form that the majority of English poetry is written in the style of. Blank verse allows an author to not be constricted by rhyme, which can be limited in the English language. Despite this, it still creates a poetic sound and sense of pattern due to the constant use of stressed and unstressed syllables. Meter is generally easier to use in English than a rhyme scheme because the majority of words are short one or two syllable counts, unlike in Romance languages such as Greek or Latin. Thus, it as looked upon favourably by English poets for close to almost half a millennium. Free verse has replaced blank verse in popularity in the most recently written poetry works, however. Though blank verse and free verse sound very much the same, there are several notable differences. The definition of blank verse suggests that, while there is no rhyme, the meter must be regular. On the other hand, the style of free verse has no rhyme scheme and no pattern of meter. Free verse is intended to mimic natural speech patterns, while blank verse still carries a musical quality as a result of its meter.
The conventional meter of blank verse is used commonly for drama and long narrative poems. It is often used in descriptive and reflective poems as well as dramatic monologues and soliloquies; these are poems in which a single character delivers his thoughts in the form of a speech to the audience. It is most commonly used as a vehicle to create specific splendour or magnificence. Blank verse has much similarity to normal speech but it is written in a variety of patterns, which bring differing paces to the speech, such as pauses. Therefore, the aim is to establish a formal rhythmical pattern that creates melodic effect. Hence, it tends to capture the attention of the readers and the listeners, which is its primary objective.
The Earl of Surrey, Henry Howard, introduced blank verse to English literature in 1540. Howard had to find a fitting form himself, making a classic epic fit for English language, in his attempt to translate The Aenid. The Aenid is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil. It is estimated to have been written between 29 and 19 BC. This epic tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. It is constructed of almost ten thousand lines in dactylic hexameter, known as ‘the metre of epics’ and used frequently by Homer, in The Odyssey and Iliad. Surrey’s blank verse was described as a ‘strange metre’. The several types of blank verse metre include iamb, spondee, dactyl and trochee.
After it’s introduction to English literature in the 1500s, Milton, Shakespeare, Marlowe, Donne among many other poets and writers have used this device in their works. Milton described discomfort with the use of rhyme in a note attached to the second printing, doing so to justify his use of blank verse in Paradise Lost and therefore, relying on the natural melodic pattern of the iambic pentameter to act as a vehicle for his words and editing the vocabulary used in order to achieve this. Milton’s work contained complex syntax within the rhythm of a line. In the opening verse of Paradise Lost, some words are abbreviated in order to fit the pattern of iambic pentameter, such as “Disobedience” (four syllables in contrast to five) and “Heav’ns” (one syllable as opposed to two).
A device typically found in an effectively constructed blank verse is enjambment. This is where an element of a concept, such as a statement or clause, is continued on into the next line, usually signified by the use of a caesura. Use of enjambment allows the poets to develop ideas of different lengths within the same form and have expression of self-reflective thoughts. Shakespeare uses blank verse as the vehicle for one of his most famous monologues of all of his writings. In the play Hamlet, it is noticeable that not every line has exactly ten syllables, a common trait of iambic pentameter. At times, Shakespeare chose to write lines with eleven syllables, yet the stress remains on the tenth syllable. From the opening line, “To be or not to be—that is the question,” we see five iambs, comprised of two beats with the stress on the second beat.
Christopher Marlowe, a contemporary of William Shakespeare’s, was one of the most significant early users of blank verse. He exercises blank verse throughout his most famous play Doctor Faustus, as we can see in one of the most poignant scenes. In the relevant scene, the audience sees the devil Mephastophilis trying to convince Faustus not to sell his soul. At this point in the text, some words must be shortened in blank verse to fit the pattern of the meter, such as the word “heaven” in line 3 and “being” in line 5. These two words must count as just one syllable to be able to conform to the iambic pentameter. Marlowe was the first author who used the potential of blank verse for writing a powerful speech, where the melodic nature of the words entice the audience, captivating their attention and drawing them in.
In “The Idea of Order at Key West” by Wallace Stevens, poets such as he used blank verse to create an effective timeless quality to their lines. The stanza in particular has perfect iambic pentameter, as we can see in each line: “The sea was not a mask. No more was she.” Surprisingly, Stevens does introduce some rhyme here, which is uncommon for blank verse, yet it is the only stanza, which has so many ending rhymes, and there is no regular rhyme scheme featured.
Robert Frost’s poem “Birches” is one of the blank verse examples in his repertoire. He alternated between rhyme and absence of rhyme in his poetry. In this case, Frost creates a poetic melody through the use of meter alone, specifically iambic pentameter. We can see measure this is any of the lines, such as in the first: “When I see birches bend to left and right.” Similarly in “Mending Walls”, there is no rhyme scheme; the main feature is a consistent iambic pentameter, with an isolated trochee pattern in the first line.
In “Frost at Midnight” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, un-rhyming blank verse is used. However, it brings a slight rhythm and measure that mimics pattern readers could hear and feel like listening to nature. He adapted this metrical form to suit a more colloquial rhythm. Both Wordsworth and Coleridge believed that everyday language and speech rhythms would help broaden poetry’s audience to include the middle and lower classes.
It was believed by the many poets and dramatists who used blank verse that poetry could write an epic of the human soul, not just a nation. Blank verse signifies the malleability of thinking in English language. Thus explaining Wordsworth and Coleridge’s eagerness to use this form, as it was a way of making poetry accessible to a wider audience.
Wordsworth himself used blank verse with iambic pentameter in “Tintern Abbey”, achieving a similar effect to Coleridge of portraying the sounds of nature to the audience. Blank verse in these instances is used with the aim of a transformative experience, acting as a vehicle to transport the reader into the shoes on the poet. When stating “These waters, rolling from their mountain springs, with a soft inland murmur”, though there is no rhyme scheme, it is still evidently imposed upon by stressed and unstressed syllables.
In conclusion, there are several key effects that the use of the form of blank verse poetry achieves. Firstly, it carries within itself a power to transport the audience and readers. Its melodic tone harnesses the power to manipulate the audience’s perception of an environment, mimicking sounds and sensory experiences to bring a concept to life. Secondly, the use of a form with iambic pentameter creates a memorable, distinct element of timelessness to the words used. By adopting a technique that draws in and entices the audience, holding their attention, it also leaves their minds far more impressionable, with the melodic nature of the tone already attractive to their memory. Thirdly, and what some would argue most importantly, blank verse is most efficient in regard to the display of emotion it encourages. As a form designed and used to reflect upon one’s innermost thoughts and feelings, blank verse is the ideal form for self-expression and flexibility of human nature.