As Ever Like the Sun & Moon at War

Important Preface

If you're not reading this on Wattpad @readwithjeremy then you're in the wrong place.


Section 1: Pentameter of Iambs: What is This?

If you already know what this is skip to Section 2

Iambic Pentameter is a form of verse in which each line contains ten syllables. Additionally, these syllables alternate between weak and strong, always beginning on weak and ending on strong. 

Ex. "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?"

This alternation lends a sense of bounciness and rhythm to iambic pentameter that makes for a fun and engaging reading experience that can be enjoyed similarly to a limerick once you've found the rhythmic template of the form. Sounds nifty, right? And it should be easy to figure out, since everyone everywhere totally agrees on what a syllable is. Maybe.

Section 2: How I Fe-el About Half Syllables

Okay, we gotta dive down a bit of a rabbit hole here. Otherwise I'm afraid you'll accuse me of missing syllables and an angry mob will chase me down with torches and pitchforks and the whole writing world will know what a phony I am. So here it is up front: I'm a little bit of a syllabic anarchist. I know--gasp-worthy. But hold the jeers while I explain myself.

It's my firm belief that--given that the point of iambic pentameter to me is to provide a smooth, rhythmic ride--pronunciation (in my accent at least) should take precedence over the actual definition of a syllable. This is where the notion of the half syllable comes in. Some syllables just sound like they're two instead of one when you say them. Don't believe me? Well, here's a test. Say these noises out loud and hear for yourself.

Ire: Desire, Fire. (Rhymes with "higher", right? And "higher" is definitely a 2-syllable word).

Irl/Arl: World, Twirl, Girl, Snarl (This is a product of my hard R, similar to "Ire").

Our: Power, Flower, Hour, Sour (I pronounce the word "our" somewhere between "are" and "air", so it's only one syllable. The contraction "thou'rt" gets this same treatment).

Ile: File, Trial, Style, While (I use "while" and "whilst" separately to avoid confusion because of this. Also, "I'll" is one syllable since I often pronounce it "Al").

Eel: Feel, Conceal, Wheel.

Ale: Flail, Tale, Trail

Oil: Toil, Soil, Coil.

Cruel/Fuel. But not words like fool, cool, pool, etc.

But wait; there's more! Note that all instances of one-and-a-half-syllable words are a strong syllable with a weak syllable tied to the end. This isn't all that important to remember in the middle of a line because you should naturally pick up the rhythm of it. However, this is important to remember if one of these sounds comes at the end of a line. For example, if I use "feel" as the last word of a line, I'm actually cutting the half syllable off. In allowing for this, the versatility of these words is increased at the cost of readers potentially losing the beat. Which is why I'll only cut half syllables at the end of a line. They will almost always be included anywhere else.

Ex. ". . .that scream'd as he for respite from ordeal" Ordeal = 2 syllables (instead of 3).

Ex. "From here he feels down the textur'd door. . ." Feels = 2 syllables (instead of 1).

For those of you with a keen eye, you'll note that I did just say almost. The exception to this is if my stupid-as-hell rule messes with an already iambic word.