iambic pentameter

1. 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….

Example Sentences

"This is the biggest mountain because I was always worried about the iambic pentameter, about blank verse, and not being trained as an actor," he says.

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The pair haven't been afraid to experiment over the years, having produced an entirely silent episode, one all in iambic pentameter and now, in the final series, an episode filmed from a doorbell camera.

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The iambic pentameter of “The Gruffalo” is so f— good.

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“It came out with this terrific poem written in iambic pentameter,” Preston recalled.

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The rhyming couplets and iambic pentameter within this volume might recall Ben Jonson or John Donne — both major influences on Thom Gunn — were it not for the verses’ unbridled eroticism.

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