The Prince’s eloquent speech is written in a different style than the way people normally speak. It contains metaphors and imagery, and the lines have a rhythm.

Try saying these lines to yourself while stressing the syllables in bold:

If ever you disturb our streets again,

Your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace.

Each line has ten syllables and every other syllable is stressed. This poetic style is called iambic pentameter.

Notice also that the lines do not rhyme. Iambic pentameter that does not rhyme is referred to as blank verse. The great majority of the dialogue in Shakespeare’s plays is written in blank verse.

It seems strange to us that Shakespeare wrote his plays in poetic form, but it wouldn’t have seemed strange to Shakespeare's audience. Back then, almost all serious literature, including plays, was written as poetry.