CHAPTER XII

BLANK VERSE

§ 160. The beginnings of Modern English poetry 219 161. Blank verse first adopted by the Earl of Surrey 219 162. Characteristics of Surrey's blank verse 221 163. Further development of this metre in the drama 222 164. The blank verse of Shakespeare 223 165. Rhymed and unrhymed lines in Shakespeare's plays 224 166. Numerical proportion of masculine and feminine endings 225 167. Numerical proportion of 'weak' and 'light' endings 225 168. Proportion of unstopt or 'run-on' and 'end-stopt' lines 226 169. Shakespeare's use of the full syllabic forms of _-est_, _-es_, _-eth_, _-ed_ 227 170. Other rhythmical characteristics of Shakespeare's plays 228 171. Alexandrines and other metres occurring in combination with blank verse in Shakespeare 230 172. Example of the metrical differences between the earlier and later periods of Shakespeare's work 232 173. The blank verse of Ben Jonson 233 174. The blank verse of Fletcher 234 175. Characteristics of Beaumont's style and versification 235 176. The blank verse of Massinger 236 177. The blank verse of Milton 237 178. The dramatic blank verse of the Restoration 239 179. Blank verse of the eighteenth century 240 180. Blank verse of the nineteenth century 240