What is Blank Verse in Literature?
Blank verse is a type of poetry that is written in unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter. Iambic pentameter is a metrical pattern in which each line contains ten syllables, with an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable, for a total of five pairs of stressed and unstressed syllables.
In blank verse, the lack of rhyme allows the poet to focus on the rhythmic and metrical qualities of the lines themselves, rather than on the sound of the words. Blank verse is often used in epic poems, dramatic monologues, and other forms of narrative poetry, as well as in plays and other dramatic works.
One of the most famous examples of blank verse is William Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet,” which is written almost entirely in unrhymed iambic pentameter. Other notable examples of blank verse include John Milton’s “Paradise Lost,” Robert Browning’s “The Ring and the Book,” and Alfred Lord Tennyson’s “In Memoriam.”
