Iambic pentameter is a rhythmic form of poetry associated with English poetry, used by William Shakespeare. Each line has five iambs, creating a smooth and rhythmic sound. The use of meter in poetry and stage composition is ancient and makes it easier to remember and recite.
Iambic pentameter is a form of rhythm that appears in poetry, song, and some prose compositions. It is most closely associated with poetry, particularly English poetry, which lends itself very well to this particular form of rhythm. One of the most notable writers to work in the form was William Shakespeare, who loved it for both his sonnets and his plays, in which the characters spoke classically in verse.
In the world of poetry, rhythm is also called “meter. The meter of a poem is determined by the “feet” or syllable patterns in the work. In the case of iambic pentameter, each line of the poem has five feet, which take the form of iambs, creating a very particular meter. The rise and fall of the accent in the verse gives it a very melodic feel and, by the way, makes it easier to remember, because people can use the meter as a framework for memorizing and reciting the poem.
Iamb are pairs of syllables that can be short and long, or unstressed and stressed. When spoken aloud, an iambic follows a “ba-DUM” pattern, with the first syllable short or unstressed and the second syllable long or stressed. In this rhythm, there are five iambs in each line, creating a “ba-DUM ba-DUM ba-DUM ba-DUM ba-DUM” sound that is very smooth and rhythmic. Lines can also be designed to rhyme with each other, using a variety of rhyme schemes ranging from creating rhyming couplets to complex interconnected rhymes that develop over the course of the composition.
Many forms of meter use iambs, because they are easy and natural to say. When poets compose a new work, they typically think about how syllables will sound together, looking for words that harmonize and create the iambic pattern, whether they’re working in iambic pentameter or another form of meter. If the syllables clash with each other, they can make the piece sound stiff, stilted, or unsettling, which may be undesirable unless it is a deliberate effect designed to evoke specific emotions in the reader or listener.
The use of various forms of meter in poetic and stage composition is very ancient. As discussed earlier, work tends to be easier to memorize and recite when it has a specific metre, which was useful in an age where few things were written down on paper, as people could pass down artwork and stories traditional in measured verse. Measured work also tends to sound more pleasing to the ear, and many poets and authors enjoy playing with meter in their work.
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