[stylist] Blank verse

[Bridgit Pollpeter]

Jackie,

Hmmm... I did post a definition of blank verse from my Dictionary of
Poetic Terms. This poem I wrote was for a class, and I received an A on
it.  Since the class wasn't a studio and just a fundamentals, the prof
was lax on the rules with blank verse. I too have wondered about the
unrhymed iambic pentameter. I've looked through other poems I wrote for
the class based on specific types of poetry, and they definitely follow
the specific directions and rules, so not sure about blank verse. As
you're a poet, you certainly know what you're speaking about. My prof,
Art Homer, was also a poet, but he also has a very laid back style when
teaching. Thank you for helping me to better understand.

Sincerely,
Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
Read my blog at:
http://blogs.livewellnebraska.com/author/bpollpeter/
 
"History is not what happened; history is what was written down."
The Expected One- Kathleen McGowan

Message: 3
Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2011 17:26:32 -0700
From: "Jacqueline Williams" <jackieleepoet at cox.net>
To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [stylist] Blank verse poem
Message-ID: <52A2E69828C846F0BAB8B36CD0BBF57A at JackiLeePoet>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="iso-8859-1"

Dear Bridget,
I have read ahead on e-mails and coming back to your original. I agree
with the many comments that this is a beautiful poem, self-revealing,
with heart and perhaps tears. It is what a poem should be if it is to
express feelings that others can relate to and experience more fully?
the regret and sorrow of another. The only problem I have is not with
your poetry, but that you call it Blank verse. The definition of blank
verse is "unrhymed iambic pentameter. This means five iambs with the
accent of each iamb on the second syllable. There would be ten syllables
in each line. I will include a more professional description of the
form. This is not to say that a few well-known poets through the ages
have not fudged the rules and written some lines that are not truly
iambic, but if you enter any Blank verse contest, (I have entered three
poems and have received two honorable mentions) and they strictly stick
to the traditional rules. Even one wrong accent will cause it to be
thrown out. 
I know that when you copy a word document into Outlook, sometimes the
format gets all screwed up. I tried some maneuvering with the lines, but
I could not get them to fit the iambic pentameter form. Is it possible
that you meant "Free Verse. If so, it is wonderful.

Blank verse is poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter.[1] It has
been described as "probably the most common and influential form that
English poetry has taken since the sixteenth century"[2] and Paul
Fussell has claimed that "about three-quarters of all English poetry is
in blank verse."[3]

The first documented use of blank verse in the English language was by
Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey in his translation of the ?neid (c. 1554).
He was possibly inspired by the Latin original, as classical Latin verse
(as well as Greek verse) did not use rhyme; or he may have been inspired
by the Italian verse form of Versi Sciolti , which also contained no
rhyme. The play, Arden of Faversham (circa 1590 by an unknown author) is
a notable example of end-stopped blank verse.

Christopher Marlowe was the first English author to make full use of the
potential of blank verse, and also established it as the dominant verse
form for English drama in the age of Elizabeth I and James I. The major
achievements in English blank verse were made by William Shakespeare,
who wrote much of the content of his plays in unrhymed iambic
pentameter, and Milton, whose Paradise Lost is written in blank verse.
Miltonic blank verse was widely imitated in the 18th century by such
poets as James Thomson (in The Seasons) and William Cowper (in The
Task). Romantic English poets such as William Wordsworth, Percy Bysshe
Shelley, and John Keats used blank verse as a major form. Shortly
afterwards, Alfred, Lord Tennyson became particularly devoted to blank
verse, using it for example in his long narrative poem "The Princess",
as well as for one of his most famous poems: "Ulysses". Among American
poets, Hart Crane and Wallace Stevens are notable for using blank verse
in extended compositions at a time when many other poets were turning to
free verse. This is from Wikipedia.

>From a poet friend, an example of different accented feet:
Jeanne Resnick
Quatrains of Sample Feet and one Five-liner 

Iambic
The man who lives upstairs 
has twenty dining chairs
a hall rack ten feet tall
and that is all

Trochaic
Mary had a little lambkin
covered with a damask napkin 
carried safe in wicker basket
"Are you comfy?" she would ask it

Anapestic
In the dark of the night
when there's wind and there's rain 
I get high as a kite
on my vintage champagne

Dactylic
Natalie called to me
"Come to me, bed with me," 
Turned me quite roseate, 
caused me to explicate,
"Sorry, I'm celibate."

Iambic
I write iambic quatrain plain
with nothing much for me to gain 
except to make a smooth refrain 
My teacher then will not complain

Note that this last one is iambic quatrain which is eight syllables, or
four feet, as against iambic pentameter which is five feet, or ten
syllables with accent on the second syllable of each foot. Clear as mud,
right? At any rate, I love the remarks of these who sure think it is a
blank in their minds. The NFSPS just reiterated that a poem is
unacceptable to submit if it has been put on any electronic site. It is
considered published. Since my Blank verse poems got Honorable Mentions,
that means they might have a good chance if I submit them in that
category again.  So for the moment I will not copy and paste  one of
mine. I will look for a good one to send you all if I see the continuing
interest. I have been so happy at the interest shown in poetry so far.
Write more, Bridget

Jackie