Blank verse facts for kids

Blank verse is a type of poetry that does not use rhyme. Instead of rhyming words at the end of lines, blank verse gets its rhythm and structure from something called meter.

What is Blank Verse?

Meter is like a musical beat for words. In blank verse, the most common meter is called iambic pentameter. This means each line usually has ten syllables, with a pattern of unstressed and stressed sounds. Think of it like a heartbeat: da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM.

Here's an example from William Wordsworth's poem Michael. Notice how the lines don't rhyme, but they still have a steady rhythm:

Upon the forest-side of Grasmere Vale

There dwelt a shepherd, Michael was his name;

An old man, stout of heart, and strong of limb.

His bodily frame had been from youth to age

Of an unusual strength: his mind was keen,

Intense, and frugal, apt for all affairs,

And in his shepherd's calling he was prompt

And watchful more than ordinary men.

This steady rhythm helps the poem flow, making it sound like poetry even without rhymes.

Why Do Poets Use Blank Verse?

Many famous poets have chosen blank verse for their most important works. They often felt it was better for serious topics than rhyming poetry. Rhyme can sometimes make a poem feel light or even a bit silly, but blank verse allows for a more natural and powerful expression of ideas.

Famous Examples of Blank Verse

• William Shakespeare: He used blank verse a lot in his later, more serious plays like Hamlet. While his early plays sometimes rhymed, he found blank verse gave his characters a more realistic way to speak.
• John Milton: His epic poem Paradise Lost is entirely in blank verse. Milton even wrote a note saying that rhyming poetry was sometimes used to hide bad writing!
• Alfred, Lord Tennyson: He used blank verse for his collection of poems called Idylls of the King.
• William Wordsworth: Besides Michael, he also used blank verse for long poems like The Prelude and The Excursion.
• John Keats: After trying rhyme in his first major poem, Endymion, he switched to blank verse for his second big attempt, Hyperion.

Some of the longest poems in English literature are written in blank verse. For example, The Fall of Nineveh by Edwin Atherstone and King Alfred by John Fitchett are both very long. King Alfred is about 130,000 lines long!

Blank Verse Today

In the 20th century, many poets started to move away from both rhyme and strict meter. They began writing in what is called free verse. Free verse doesn't follow a set rhythm or rhyme scheme, giving poets even more freedom. However, blank verse still remains an important and powerful form of poetry.

Images for kids

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  The title page of Robert Andrews' translation of Virgil into English blank verse, printed by John Baskerville in 1766

See also

In Spanish: Verso blanco para niños