


Why is this so? I've read that English is a heavily iambic language and that having five iambic feet as opposed to four or six makes the line sound more "serious." Personally, I think that answer is bunk. In fact, the majority of formed poetry (villanelle, ballade, sestina, terza rima, etc.) uses this meter. In addition, most Shakespearean sonnets are written in iambic pentameter. In fact, most of his plays were written in unrhymed iambic pentameter, known as Blank Verse. Example: but SOFT what LIGHT through YONder WINdow BREAKS?Īs you might surmise from that last example, Shakespeare used iambic pentameter extensively. Pentameter means that there are 5 of those iambs: du-DUM,du-DUM,ĭu-DUM,du-DUM,du-DUM.

An "iamb" means a weak syllable followed by a strong one: "duh-DUM." Examples: "select, a cat, Tomas (Spanish for Thomas).Ģ. "Iambic" means that the line in a particular rhythm. Many of you are familiar with Iambic pentameter, the meter preferred by many formal English poets.
