Iambic pentameter is the beating life force of the English language, expressed in its most powerful state. Unstressed and stressed syllables almost take on the rhythm of a heartbeat. Iambic pentameter initially soared in popularity, and remains beloved to this very day, precisely because it so closely mimics natural speech - in the English language, at least - at its very finest. Poetry and music touch the human soul for many of the same reasons - and neither compares to words written on a page and read in your mind, as performing them aloud amplifies their power manifold. Once you get into its swing, you’ll find iambic pentameter everywhere. (Yes, that one’s much more modern, as it comes from Johnny Cash’s A Boy Named Sue!) Or - well It was GAT-lin Burg in Mid Ju-LY – and I’D just HIT town AND my THROAT was DRY Here’s another: well it was Gatlinburg in mid July - and I’d just hit town and my throat was dry Read that aloud, and you’ll roughly get: shall I com-PARE thee TO a SUM-mer’s DAY? Look, here’s Shakespeare in Sonnet 18: Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? That’s to say, you could almost just write whatever you wanted to and somehow end up with iambic pentameter.

The beauty of this kind of poetry, however, lies precisely in the fact that it closely resembles the most powerful organically-emerging speech patterns. Therefore, poetry written in iambic pentameter consists of 10-syllable lines of iambs.ĭoes that sound wholly unnatural and incredibly intimidating so far? It would - language described in abstract terms always does. “Meter” refers to the melodic, and audible, pattern in poetry, and “penta” means “five”. An “iamb” is simply an unstressed (and therefore short, when spoken) syllable followed by a free-flowing, long one. If you’ve never heard of it before, don’t worry - a common-sense concept hides behind the fancy name. Iambic pentameter is among the most widely-used meters in English-language poetry. How do you do it? Iambic Pentameter Basics Writing in iambic pentameter is a fun challenge that will lead you to catchy, impactful, poems or songs.

Iambic pentameter sonnet