Blank Verse
Blank verse is a style of poetry composed of a iambic pentameter without rhyme.
Each line contains five poetic feet, or groupings of syllables. These feet are called iambs because they are composed of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one. There are five feet and two syllables per foot, so ten syllables per line. Here’s an example from Idylls of the King to show you what we mean:
But still heard / him, still / his pic / ture form’d. (“Lancelot and Elaine,” 985)
You can see how this verse is made up of five groupings of an unstressed followed by a stressed syllable (those are the ones in bold).
Tennyson's Variations
Iambic pentameter is the general pattern of meter in Idylls, but Tennyson’s iambic pentameter tends to be very irregular. He often disrupts the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables to create poetic emphasis or effect. Here’s an example from the same passage:
But when / they left / her to / herself / again,
/ - - / / - - / - /
Death, like / a friend’s / voice from / a dis / tant field
- / - / - / - / - /
Approach / ing through / the darkn / ess, call’d; / the owls. (“Lancelot and Elaine,” 985-987)
Look at how irregular the meter is in line 987: Instead of using an iamb for the first foot, Tennyson uses a trochee. He does this again in the third foot on “voice.” The stresses on “death” and “voice” emphasize that they are the most important words in this line. They also have the effect of making us experience death’s voice like an intrusion that breaks the flow of the poetry, just as Elaine experiences it as an intrusion on her solitude. Tennyson loves to use irregular meter in this way, to heighten the drama and make the sound of his poetry match up with its meaning.