Introduction
At the end of this unit, you will be able to:
1. Identify the three discussed verse forms.
2. Distinguish between the various types of verse.
3. Discuss the effects of rhymed and unrhymed meters in lines of poetry/verse.
MAIN CONTENT
Blank Verse
This is a type of metrical composition that typically consists of unrhymed iambic pentameters. It was the dominant verse used in English dramatic and narrative poetry since the 16th century. Henry Howard, the Earl of Surrey, first adapted it in his translation of some books of Virgil’s Aeneid. Its origins lie in classical Greece and Rome, adapted by Italian Renaissance writers. It's called blank verse because, unlike conventional metrical compositions, it lacks stanzas. Instead, it features verse paragraphs that delineate each sustained unit of meaning. In capable hands, it's "a supple instrument uniquely capable of conveying speech rhythm and emotional overtones" (Encarta). Notable English poets and playwrights, such as John Milton, Alfred Tennyson, William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Christopher Marlow, and other Elizabethan playwrights, creatively employed blank verse in their plays.
Heroic Verse
This consists of iambic pentameter lines rhyming in pairs (aa, bb, cc, etc.). It earned its name because it was the form used for heroic/epic poetry and plays in English. Originating in the 14th century with Geoffrey Chaucer, it typically features ten-syllable (decasyllabic) lines. Its popularity surged in the 17th and 18th centuries, becoming known as heroic couplet. It's the smallest unit of verse forms and can be restrictive, as illustrated in the following examples from two Augustan or 18th-century English poets:
1. "First follow Nature, and your judgement frame
By her just standard, which is still the same."
- Alexander Pope, 'Essay on Criticism'
2. "All human things are subject to decay,
And when fate summons, monarchs must obey."
- John Dryden, 'McFlecknoe'
There are two distinct types of the heroic couplet: the closed and the open. The closed couplet coincides with the end of a sentence, a complete thought, or a self-contained unit of syntax, pausing at the end of the first line and concluding the thought at the end of the second. This type forms a stanza but is not separated from preceding or following lines. In the open couplet, syntax is asymmetrical, lines run-on, and rhyme is an ornament rather than marking the verse's end, as seen in Chaucer's vibrant opening lines of The Canterbury Tales:
"
Whan that Aprille with his shoures sote
The drogte of Marche hath perced to the rote,
And bathed every veyne in Swich locour
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heet
The tendre croppes….
Free Verse
Free verse, defined by Heese and Lawton as rhythmical lines varying in length, adheres to no fixed metrical pattern and is usually unrhymed. It aims to free poetry from formal metrical restrictions and approximate the rhythm of natural speech. Free verse relies on general rhythm, with a vague structure based on repetition, balance, and variation of phrases. Despite the absence of regular stress patterns, T. S. Eliot notes that no verse is truly free for a poet striving for quality, as the absence of meter doesn't imply a lack of rhythm. Detecting the rhythmic pattern in free verse involves observing variations in line length, repetition, and other techniques employed by the poet.
French Symbolist poets of the late 19th century, Walt Whitman, and many modern poets, especially the Imagists of the 20th century, effectively utilized free verse. Lines excerpted from T. S. Eliot's 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock' exemplify this verse form.
CONCLUSION
Poetry is most effectively appreciated when read aloud. Specific features enable this act of oral reading. The three verse forms we've just studied significantly contribute to the feel and texture, enhancing the richness of a well-composed poem.
SUMMARY
The three verse forms—blank verse, heroic verse, and free verse—found extensive adoption by English literary giants such as Pope, Milton, Chaucer, and T. S. Eliot in their poetry. This widespread usage has played a crucial role in the enduring appreciation of their literary works. When employed with creativity, these verse forms contribute to the overall quality of the poetry, adding a rich ambience.
REFERENCES/FURTHER READING
Dryden, John & John Oldham. (2011). Mac Flecknoe: A Poem. New York: Nabu Press.
Eliot, Thomas S. (1917). Prufrock and Other Observations. London: The Egoist Ltd.
Pope, Alexander. (1711). An Essay on Criticism. London: W. Lewis.