Iambic Pentameter

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Heather Weighknecht

An iamb is a metrical foot of poetry that contains two syllables. The first syllable is unaccented, and the second syllable is accented. Pentameter means that there are five iambs to a line. Together, iambic pentameter means a line of poetry made up of five iambs, so there are ten syllables in the line. Iambic pentatmeter is the most popular line of poetry in English. Iambic pentameter was also the line that Shakespeare chose to write in.

An example of iambic pentameter is found in Robert Frost's poetry:

"I didn't make you kow how glad I was"

and even more commonly spoken phrases like:

"I'd like to introduce a friend of mine"

are composed in iambic pentameter. One example of iambic pentameter in a piece that we have read this semester is found in the poem "Counting the Beats" written by Robert Graves and found in The Dancer and the Dance:"

"When death strikes home, O where then shall we be"

Some links: [[[1]]]

[2]

Resources:

-Murfin, Ross; Ray, Supriya M. The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's; 2003.

-Mason, David and Nims, John Frederick. "The Dancer and the Dance." An Introduction to Poetry.

Heather37490 21:45, 29 January 2007 (EST)