Blank verse is a form of poetry written in unrhymed lines that have a meter, or poetic rhythm.

The most commonly used meter in blank verse is iambic pentameter. Iambic describes a set of two syllables. The first syllable is unstressed. The second is stressed. A good example is the word "forget".

A line written in iambic pentameter has five iambic feet, therefore ten syllables all together.

This style originally came from Italy and was picked up by poets like Christopher Marlowe, who made it the standard for other English writers of the day, including William Shakespeare and John Milton.

Blank verse became very popular in English drama and poetry because this type of verse seems to sound most like natural speech.

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Text: Celeste Beck