Style Similarity's: Blank Verse

 Blank Verse

The next example of Shakespeare using the popular style of writing in His plays is the most obvious. Shakespeare used the poetic form called blank verse. About Three-quarters of all English poetry is done in blank verse (Paul) and Shakespeare's writing was similar in that the majority of it was in blank verse. Blank verse is describe as “verse without rhyme esp. iambic pentameter.” (OED, Blank Verse) The first lines of the first play that Shakespeare wrote begin with it. In the video below from Henry IV part 2 you can hear the unstressed iambic syllable followed by a stressed syllable and the pentameter or five stressed syllable in a ten syllable line. In the video below I strum the strings of my guitar with each syllable.  When I strum down on my guitar that means it is a stressed syllable and I strum up when its unstressed.

By strumming my guitar for each syllable you can recognize how every other syllable in blank verse goes from stressed to unstressed. You can also see that there is little change in the form which allows no artistic expression from the writer. In the text below we can visually see the strict form of the style of that time.

Open your ears; for which of you will stop
The vent of hearing when loud Rumour speaks?
I, from the orient to the drooping west,
Making the wind my post-horse, still unfold
The acts commenced on this ball of earth:
Upon my tongues continual slanders ride,
The which in every language I pronounce,
Stuffing the ears of men with false reports.

Each metrical line of the stanza is close to the same length and it appears ridged. The speech does not continue past the end of the verse line without a heavy stop. The lines are discrete and connected in a sequence of thought but each line is independent metrically and verbally. (Bevington)

In the video below we can see how the lines from the play are verbally independent and follow a strict rhythm.

You can also identify that that words with more than one syllable are placed so that the stress falls on the right syllable. Shakespeare did not deviate from stressed, unstressed pattern in His first plays. There were no pauses in the midst of the line and He didn’t run on past the end of the line with no stop punctuation. (Bevington) The strictness of the adherence to the style conventions of that time shows that Shakespeare aimed for popular appeal and not self-expression, from the Language in the play we can also draws that conclusion. Shakespeare focus was to adhering to popular conventions not artistic and self expression as it is later.