Blank Verse

[Leanne]

To write in blank verse isn’t very hard --
in fact it’s quite the opposite, a trip
through five iambs without the need to rhyme,
a natural progression of the beat.

The easiest of meters in the tongue
of Milton, Pope and Shakespeare – just a few
who didn’t think it tricky to contrive
da dum times five in ev’ry single line.

No need to overcomplicate this scheme,
it’s not the cryptic crossword in The Times,
just pentametric plainness, row on row --
remember though, there can’t be any rhymes.

oh bugger

[billy]

newspaper doesn't rhyme with rhymes
cleverly done.

so
blank verse = isn't (dum dum da da)

and
dum times five = in ev’ry (dum dum dum da da da)

am i correct?

[Leanne]

No you're not, sorry

Remember, stresses depend on the other syllables. It's all relative. You can't take them in isolation.

[billy]

To write in blank verse isn’t very hard --
in fact it’s quite the opposite, a trip
through five iambs without the need to rhyme,
a natural progression of the beat.

The easiest of meters in the tongue
of Milton, Pope and Shakespeare – just a few
who didn’t think it tricky to contrive
da dum da dum times five in ev’ry line.

No need to overcomplicate this scheme,
it’s not the cryptic crossword in The Times,
just pentametric plainness, row on row --
remember though, there can’t be any rhymes.

oh bugger

verse isn’t = very hard
is
dum da da /da da dum
and
times five = in ev
dum dum/ da da ?

---

and you're not sorry at all

[Leanne]

Smart arse... poetic licence :p

I'll fix it.

[Leanne]

Billy, fix the meter first in your head, then recite. Rinse, then repeat.

---

2(da dum) X 5= da dum da dum da dum da dum da dum da dum da dum da dum da dum da dum

Yes, I got it the first time, I'm very clever you know.

[billy]

right, i got it, isn't threw me curve ball i saw it as da da it's wait

To write in blank verse isn’t very hard
blank is tress and verse is stress sorry i can't get my head round the bastard.

[milo]

To write in blank verse isn’t very hard --
in fact it’s quite the opposite, a trip
through five iambs without the need to rhyme,
a natural progression of the beat.

The easiest of meters in the tongue
of Milton, Pope and Shakespeare – just a few
who didn’t think it tricky to contrive
da dum da dum times five in ev’ry line.

No need to overcomplicate this scheme,
it’s not the cryptic crossword in The Times,
just pentametric plainness, row on row --
remember though, there can’t be any rhymes.

oh bugger

I'm gonna' tell you of the other night -
I'm drinking in the pub with my best mates
we're playing darts when Mickey throws 1 wild
and it flies straight into poor Tommy's eye.

"Now that is pretty bad," you're gonna say
but hold your tongue my story isn't done
before the night has passed someone will die
but there's another thing that is much worse.

So, Tommy's eye starts gushing viscous fluid -
there's blood and puss that's oozing through his fingers
he's crying and he's screaming like a madman
and then, half-blind he tumbles out the door

and stumbles, frog-walks drunk, into the street.
A taxi cab that cannot swerve or stop
comes smashing through and knocks blind Tommy's head
right off his shoulders, sends it rolling down

an alley where it stops, still spurting blood
and Tommy's moans of pain. His one good eye
is fixed upon a page (I told you it gets worse)
it seems Leanne has written in blank verse!

[Leanne]

I know you're clever. I couldn't resist the opportunity to write out all those da dums. Besides, there are others watching who may not be so sharp

You mean billy, don't you?

---

Milo, I do love how the stanza with the most gore also has feminine endings

"innit" isn't used like that, if my knowledge of chav is correct... and I kind of hope it isn't, because that would say dreadful things about me...

---

Follow the ictus, billy:

To write in blank verse isn’t very hard
x / x / x / x / x /

(/ is an ictus, btw... x is off-stress or unstressed... how stressed are you now?)

[milo]

I know you're clever. I couldn't resist the opportunity to write out all those da dums. Besides, there are others watching who may not be so sharp

You mean billy, don't you?

---

Milo, I do love how the stanza with the most gore also has feminine endings

"innit" isn't used like that, if my knowledge of chav is correct... and I kind of hope it isn't, because that would say dreadful things about me...

---

Follow the ictus, billy:

To write in blank verse isn’t very hard
x / x / x / x / x /

(/ is an ictus, btw... x is off-stress or unstressed... how stressed are you now?)

I was reading burns

[Leanne]

bugger... I forgot about the formatting for spaces... what is it again? Oh, never mind. It's alternating syllables.

[billy]

am i allowed to say wankers?

i uderstand what stressed and unstressed should be, i just can't see how

blank verse

doesn't have two stressed syls side by side.

[billy]

but you've been saying an iamb is a spondee.

---

or vice a verse

---

oi was saying
verse is isn't iambic but spondoolian

[Leanne]

am i allowed to say wankers?

i uderstand what stressed and unstressed should be, i just can't see how

blank verse

doesn't have two stressed syls side by side.

It's a shame for you. Take two tablets, lie down and call me in the morning.

[milo]

it's time that you 2 stopped your pointless scansion
and started writing blank verse in this thread

[Leanne]

Is that the purpose of this thread? To write
in verse as blank as billy's tiny mind?
In that case I shall scan no more. Instead
I'll just enjamb at will, to upset Tom.

[milo]

It's your thread, you tell me, we could
discuss these words, or argue every ictus
or if we're in a jam we could enjamb
although, for me, I like to pair my jam
with bread, but maybe we could argue that
instead. Let me tell a story of a jam
I had. It wasn't what you think - it was
my elbow jammed against the door
jamb while my toast was burning, jamless, not
a thing that I could do to stop it, Oh
those butter-craving nooks they need the balm
of thick spread jam and all the while, here I
am trapped. I just remembered what my point
was - billy really cannot scan for shite!

[Brownlie]

The fun thing about blank verse is that you can ramble with only a little bit of structure involved.

[Leanne]

Once you understand how structure and meter works, the same could be said of any form

[rayheinrich]

There once was a verse that was blank
No rhyming, just fill in the blank
To have to conform
To so formless a form
Is a prospect so bleak that it's blank