The following short essay was written for an online class. Enjoy!
Comparing and contrasting free verse and blank verse
Free verse does not follow any true form from poetry though
some can contain loose iambic pentameter.
It contains neither rhyme nor repetition. Blank verse generally has iambic pentameter
but does not rhyme.
Psalm 23 of the Bible is known by many. It does not contain rhymes or any set meter,
but it could be considered one of the most famous free verse poems, memorized
by many. Here is the beginning of Psalm
23 written by King David of the Bible:
Psalm 23
A psalm of David.
 |
| Psalm 23: 1-4 |
1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack
nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,[a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,[a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
William Shakespeare wrote blank verse, which does contain a
set meter but without rhymes. Here is a
portion of his famous work, Macbeth:
 |
| William Shakespeare |
Macbeth
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
If read aloud you can hear the rhythm of da dum, da dum, da
dum, da dum, da dum throughout the poem.
It contains no rhymes but is definitely written poetically.
So to tell free verse apart from blank verse, look for
rhymes. If it has none, then look at
meter. If no meter is found, then it is
free verse, free from all poetic constraints.
If there is a definite meter, then it is blank verse.
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