Question

POETIC STRUCTURE: BLANK VERSE
During the English Renaissance, writers used blank verse to reflect natural speech. Blank verse
lines are unrhymed, and each line is written in iambic pentameter. In iambic pentameter, each
line is divided into five metrical units, or feet, called iambs. Each foot is made up of two
syllables—one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable: duh-DUM. In the example
below, underlined letters in bold type indicate that the stress is on the second syllable. The
vertical dividing lines separate the iambic feet.
If mu | sic be | the food | of love | play on;
—from “Twelfth Night,” by William Shakespeare
Prose, unlike blank verse, does not follow any metrical pattern. It has a more casual, looser
quality, like everyday speech. Shakespeare uses prose for characters of lower rank and for
comic characters.
A. DIRECTIONS: Read the following excerpt from the poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” by
William Wordsworth. Divide each line of the poem into feet by drawing vertical lines between
words. Then underline the stressed syllable in each foot.
I wandered, lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er dales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of lovely daffodils;
B. DIRECTIONS: Read these lines from The Tempest, by Shakespeare. Then, answer the
questions.
Beseech you, sir, be merry; you have cause,
So have we all, of joy; for our escape
Is much beyond our loss. Our hint of woe
1. Are the lines blank verse or prose? How do you know?
2. Based on your answer to question 1, who is more likely to have spoken these lines?
a. a nobleman (a high-ranking character) b. a jester (a comic character)

Answer 1

A. (I show the feet separated by vertical bars; the CAPITALIZED syllable in each foot is the stressed one. Note: Wordsworth’s poem is in iambic tetrameter — four iambs per line.)

I wandered, lonely as a cloud
I WAND | ered LONE | ly AS | a CLOUD

That floats on high o’er dales and hills,
that FLOATS | on HIGH | o’er DALES | and HILLS

When all at once I saw a crowd,
When ALL | at ONCE | I SAW | a CROWD

A host of lovely daffodils;
A HOST | of LOVE | ly DAF | fo DILS

B.
1. These lines are blank verse. They are unrhymed and scan as iambic pentameter (five iambs per line). For example:
Is MUCH | be YOND | our LOSS | our HINT | of WOE
(da-DUM repeated five times).

2. a. a nobleman — Blank verse was typically used for noble or high‑ranking characters; prose was used for lower‑status or comic characters (jesters).