Which term refers to poetry written in regular meter (usually iambic pentameter) but without end rhymes?

Prepare for the NES English Language Arts (ELA) (301) Exam with our comprehensive study guide featuring concise flashcards, multiple choice questions, and detailed explanations. Master the ELA content and enhance your test readiness with our expert resources.

Multiple Choice

Which term refers to poetry written in regular meter (usually iambic pentameter) but without end rhymes?

Regular meter with no end rhymes describes blank verse. It keeps a steady rhythm in each line—typically iambic pentameter, which means five feet per line with an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one—but the lines do not end with rhymes. That combination creates a formal, musical feel without rhyming, which is why you see it used in serious, extended passages of English drama and epic poetry, like Shakespeare’s plays and Milton’s works. Free verse lacks a set meter, so it doesn’t have the regular beat. Rhymed verse relies on end rhymes, so the lines rhyme at the ends. An elegy is a poem that laments a loss and isn’t defined by its meter or rhyme—though it can be written in blank verse. The defining feature here is the steady meter without end rhymes, which is blank verse.

Regular meter with no end rhymes describes blank verse. It keeps a steady rhythm in each line—typically iambic pentameter, which means five feet per line with an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one—but the lines do not end with rhymes. That combination creates a formal, musical feel without rhyming, which is why you see it used in serious, extended passages of English drama and epic poetry, like Shakespeare’s plays and Milton’s works.

Free verse lacks a set meter, so it doesn’t have the regular beat. Rhymed verse relies on end rhymes, so the lines rhyme at the ends. An elegy is a poem that laments a loss and isn’t defined by its meter or rhyme—though it can be written in blank verse. The defining feature here is the steady meter without end rhymes, which is blank verse.

More practice questions