iambic pentameter

Cultural  

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….

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Example Sentences

Other decisions are matters of policy: Should a translator preserve Shakespeare’s iambic pentameter?

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026

"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.

From BBC • Jun. 7, 2024

In 2010, Lee found herself on Broadway in a revival of “La Bête,” a comedy in iambic pentameter set in the 17th century and starring David Hyde Pierce and Joanna Lumley.

From New York Times • May 31, 2023

But LLMs have also managed to ace the bar exam, explain the Higgs boson in iambic pentameter, and make an attempt to break up their users’ marriage.

From Scientific American • May 11, 2023

“Ta-TUM, ta-TUM, ta-TUM, ta-TUM, ta-TUM! That was well spoken, too. I could hear the iambic pentameter galloping right along.”

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood