The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, ​
Act II, ​
by William Shakespeare Literary Analysis: Blank Verse Shakespeare wrote his plays largely in blank verse. ​
Blank verse ​
is a term used to label poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. An ​
iamb ​
is a two­syllable unit called a foot, in which the first syllable is unstressed and the second syllable is stressed. The word ​
above ​
is an iamb, for example. “Pentameter” means that there are five such units in each line of poetry. We use ˘ to mark unstressed syllables and ´ to mark stressed syllables. Ca˘n I´ go˘ fórwar˘d whén my˘ héart is˘ hére? Shakespeare occasionally alters the iambic rhythm. He also intersperses rhymed couplets amidst the blank verse. A ​
rhymed couplet ​
consists of two consecutive lines of poetry whose final syllables rhyme. These couplets are also in iambic pentameter. Here are two rhymed couplets from Act II, Scene ii. Sleep dwell upon thine eyes, peace in thy breast! Would I were sleep and peace, so sweet to rest! Hence will I to my ghostly friar’s close cell, His help to crave and my dear hap to tell. The end rhyme emphasizes the words of the speaker and creates a feeling of completeness. For that reason, Shakespeare often used rhymed couplets to end scenes, important speeches, and especially important or emotional dialogue. D​
IRECTIONS​
: ​
Mark the stressed and unstressed syllables in these lines from Act II, Scene v. Put a check mark next to the line that has one extra syllable and the line ​
not ​
written in iambic pentameter. The first line has been marked for you. JULIET​
. ​
T˘he clóck stru˘ck níne w˘hen I´ d˘id sénd t˘he núrse; In half an hour she promised to return. Perchance she cannot meet him. That’s not so. O, she is lame! Love’s heralds should be thoughts, Which ten times faster glide than the sun’s beams Driving back shadows over low’ring hills. Therefore do nimble­pinioned doves draw Love, And therefore hath the wind­swift Cupid wings. Now is the sun upon the highmost hill Of this day’s journey, and from nine till twelve Is three long hours; yet she is not come. Had she affections and warm youthful blood, She would be as swift in motion as a ball; My words would bandy her to my sweet love, And his to me. But old folks, many feign as they were dead— Unwieldy, slow, heavy and pale as lead.