iambic pentameter

[ (eye-am-bik pen-tam-uh-tuhr) ]


The most common meter in English verse. It consists of a line ten syllables long that is accented on every second beat (see blank verse). These lines in iambic pentameter are from The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare:

Ĭn sóoth,/Ĭ knów/nŏt whý/Ĭ ám/sŏ sád.
Ĭt wéa/riĕs mé;/yŏu sáy/ĭt wéa/riĕs yóu....

Words Nearby iambic pentameter

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

How to use iambic pentameter in a sentence

  • He first gives his reasons for preferring iambic pentameter to the Reinartsvers, which some might think best to use.

    The Translations of Beowulf | Chauncey Brewster Tinker