Any
unrhymed verse with a regular
beat pattern. May include
hexameter or
pentameter,
iambic feet and other variants. Often used to indicate a form of courtliness (either in the sense of dealings between nobles, or of lovemaking) in speech in
Shakespeare, and the lack of it can imply great familiarity.
One of the best self-referntial lines about the use of blank verse in Shakespeare is found in As You Like It, where Jaques says ``Nay then, goodbye an you talk in blank verse.'' As You Like It is perhaps the most verse-free of Shakespeare's plays. The contrast is set between Rosalind and Jaques' banter (in plain speech) and Orlando, the lover, who enters with the clearly poetical, ``Good day and happiness, dear Rosalind.''