Jackie Craven: May 25th, 2019. The term "blank verse" refers to poetry that has a consistent meter but no formal rhyme scheme. Blank verse, as opposed to free poetry, has a measured rhythm. The beat in English is often iambic pentameter, but other metrical patterns might be utilized. Most modern poets who use the form do so in order to achieve a more dramatic effect than could be done with other genres. In classical times, poets wrote in dactylic (or dactylic) hexameters which is six-line stanzas based on the meter used by the Greek poet Archilochus (7th century B.C.). These lines have one foot consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one. This pattern is repeated throughout the line, with the exception of the last foot which has two unstressed syllables. Dactyls were divided into groups of three according to the position of the secondary stress within the line. The first foot of each group would receive a mark ("tag"), while the second and third feet received a half tag each. The primary stress fell on the third foot from the end in classical dactylic hexameters. The practice of dividing up the foot changed over time, but this system remains useful for comparing different types of verses today.