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What Is Iambic Pentameter?

Each of the fourteen lines of a Shakespearean sonnet is written in “iambic pentameter.” This means a line contains five iambs—two syllable pairs in which the second syllable is emphasized.

As an example, consider the opening line of Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 130”:

My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun

With proper iambic emphasis, the line would be read aloud in the following way:

My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun

Shakespeare was such a master of iambic pentameter that he even seamlessly inserted it into dramatic action. Consider Juliet’s line in Romeo and Juliet:

“But, soft! / What light / through yon / der win / dow breaks?”

Much of Shakespeare’s theatrical writing featured non-rhyming lines of iambic pentameter. This style of poetry is called “blank verse.” While blank verse contains the same poetic rhythm as sonnets, it does not feature the sonnet’s rhyme scheme.

Iambic pentameter, frequently taught in high schools using classic English poetry, is actually a mark of natural human speech patterns.

Iambic Pentameter Sound Like?
The simplest example of iambic verse is a human heartbeat, which is a small beat followed by a larger beat: da-DUM. Iambic pentameter, then, sounds something like this: “da DUM, da DUM, da DUM, da DUM, da DUM.”

For a classic example of this rhythm, consider the opening line of William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18”:

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
shall I com-PARE thee TO a SUM-mer's DAY?

Uses of Iambic Pentameter

Iambic pentameter appears in all types of English writing, from rhyming Shakespearean sonnets, to blank verse poems, to plays. While there are other iambic verse forms, including trimeter (three iambs), tetrameter (four iambs), and hexameter (six iambs), iambic pentameter is the most famous due to its popularity with Shakespeare and other Elizabethan poets.

Because of its highly structured stressed-unstressed format, iambic pentameter is generally not found in free verse or prose writing. However, because it mirrors a comfortable cadence of English speech and conversation, keen observers can find examples of iambic pentameter just about anywhere. In fact, iambic pentameter can be an effective tool for writing dialogue in plays or movies.

— admin t!n シ︎

Reference(s):
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/poetry-101-what-is-a-shakespearean-sonnet-learn-about-shakespearean-sonnets-with-examples#what-is-the-structure-of-a-shakespearean-sonnet
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-write-iambic-pentameter-with-david-mamet#what-does-iambic-pentameter-sound-like