How did Shakespeare use blank verse in his plays?

William Shakespeare transformed blank verse—unrhymed iambic pentameter—into the primary vehicle for his dramatic poetry. His approach to the form evolved significantly throughout his career:1

• Early Works: Shakespeare often combined blank verse with prose and 10-syllable rhymed couplets.1
• Later Works: He shifted toward a style of blank verse that relied more heavily on stress than on strict syllabic length. In masterpieces such as Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, Macbeth, and The Winter’s Tale, his verse became increasingly supple.1

Shakespeare’s mature blank verse effectively approximated the natural rhythms of human speech while remaining capable of expressing complex emotions, ranging from delight to profound grief and perplexity. By skillfully varying the stresses and the placement of the caesura (pause) within his lines, he created a flexible and powerful instrument that remains the standard for English dramatic verse.12