If you’ve studied any of Shakespeare’s sonnets you may have heard of ‘iambic pentameter’… but what exactly is iambic pentameter?
Iambic Pentameter Definition
Iambic
In a line of poetry, an ‘iamb’ is a foot or beat consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.
Or another way to think of it it a short syllable followed by a long syllable. For example, deLIGHT, the SUN, forLORN, one DAY, reLEASE. English is the perfect language for iambus because of the way the stressed and unstressed syllables work. (Interestingly, the iamb sounds a little like a heartbeat).
Pentameter
‘Penta’ means five, so pentameter simply means five meters. A line of poetry written in iambic pentameter has five feet = five sets of stressed syllables and unstressed syllables.
Putting these two terms together, iambic pentameter is a line of writing that consists of ten syllables in a specific pattern of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable, or a short syllable followed by a long syllable.
5 iambs/feet of unstressed and stressed syllables – simple!
Iambic Pentameter Examples
Here are three very different examples of iambic pentameter in English poetry:
Shakespeare’s sonnet 18 starts ‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?’. This line of poetry has five feet, so it’s written in pentameter. And the stressing pattern is all iambs (an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable):
Shall I | compARE | thee TO | a SUM | mers DAY?
da DUM | da DUM | da DUM | da DUM | da DUM
From Shakespeare to Taylor Swift, whose #1 dance-pop single Shake It Off includes some iambic pentameter. Who knew?! (And yes, we have just classified Taylor Swift as a poet!)
I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, sha-ake
da DUM | da DUM | da DUM | da DUM | da DUM
And one final (and more traditional) example of iambic pentameter, this time from Robert Browning’s poem My Last Duchess. The poem is written as a dramatic lyric made up of rhymed couplets in iambic pentameter, with each line made up of 5 sets of alternating stressed and unstressed syllables – 10 syllables in all:
That my last Duchess painted on the wall,
Looking as if she were alive. I call
That piece a wonder, now: Frà Pandolf’s hands
Worked busily a day, and there she stands…
And seemed as they would ask me, if they durst,
How such a glance came there; so, not the first
Are you to turn and ask thus. Sir, ’twas not
Her husband’s presence only, called that spot…
Beginning to understand it now? Check out this short tutorial
Why Do Poets Use Iambic Pentameter?
Iambic pentameter is used frequently, in verse, poetry and even pop songs. This rhythm was popularised by Elizabethan and Jacobean dramatised such as Shakespeare and John Donne, and is still used today by modern authors (read sonnet examples from other poets – some use iambic pentameters and some use other meters).
Iambic pentameter is a basic rhythm that’s pleasing to the ear and closely resembles the rhythm of everyday speech, or a heartbeat.
For playwrights, using iambic pentameter allow them to imitate everyday speech in verse. The rythm gives a less rigid, but natural flow to the text – and the dialogue. Put simply, iambic pentameter is a metrical speech rhythm that is natural to the English language. Shakespeare used iambic pentameter because it closely resembles the rhythm of everyday speech, and he no doubt wanted to imitate everyday speech in his plays.
Why Shakespeare Loved Iambic Pentameter
Common Questions About Iambic Pentameter:
Does iambic pentameter needs to be ten syllables?
Pentameter is simply penta, which means 5, meters. So a line of poetry written in pentameter has 5 feet, or 5 sets of stressed and unstressed syllables
Is ‘to be or not to be’ iambic pentameter?
No. Although there are elements of iambic pentameter throughout Hamlet’s ‘to be or not to be‘ soliloquy there are many lines with more than ten syllables, which by definition means the lines can’t be in iambic pentameter.
How can you identify iambic pentameter?
Iambic pentameter is a line of writing that consists of ten syllables in a specific pattern of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable, or a short syllable followed by a long syllable. For example ‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?’ from Shakespeare’s sonnet 18.
This is a very helpful website because I have to make a sonnet for Mother’s Day as an assignment for one of my classes, so I just want to say thank you for making this website!
You’re very welcome – great to hear you’ve found the site useful :)
give me some questions to ask my teacher
Ask how their day was
i dont know HOW TO DO THIS CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Me neither
Same bro, send help
You’re my friend can do this. Small steps, learn the alphabet, go out for a walk and listen to other people speak English as it is different all over our world just like different dialects of Spanish, German, Russian. You get my drift. Listen and when you’re ready, Stand up and walk with the crowd on the streets and communicate. You’ll be amazed at how nice people are when you try to speak their language Even if it is wrong. That, is one of the beauties of our world and how we learn to communicate. Dive in, Carpe Diem!
not epic!!!
its easy, watch: You DO / know HOW / it WORKS !
?
Thank you. I am sure I have looked it up in a dictionary before, but clearly the definition didn’t ‘stick’.
It is simple enough that even an old engineer can understand.
uuuggghhhh English is hard
I know
~ Allow me to help you, somewhat, you little twit: Madame: The English language is one of the most difficult languages to learn, period.
Arabic, is another and of course, Chinese is a test.
Grow up; go to school and, please, learn a few things.
Stephen…
Florida, USA, et al.
Try to be polite my friend on a response to people that are inquisitive about learning. Name-calling doesn’t behoove you. Educate and be polite. Perhaps someday this person will be Teaching our future generations.
you could find an entry level course on understanding other human beings, and loving yourself — those actually exist in some forms — take flight buddy — == %/-/?“`
BRUH
There are some fools who choose to use the dis.
They castigate without form, rhyme, or wit.
Take care, lest you will find you’ve run amiss,
With your own words you’ve shown you are the twit.
Perfect & true
I’ve heard that comment before about English and its challenges; however, In the broader world, there are many more that a grand majority of us cannot comprehend. Never give up on your learning opportunities for more languages, it is the way we communicate and network with others around the world. Kudos to you my friend.
You will get there and be glad you worked at it
Hard? Or Difficult?
Is Iambic Pentameter hard?
Not as hard as you would think
Please I need help on this iambic pentameter
reee this is so hard!
have to memorize Canterbury tales in old inglesh
F