Back Ямбичен пентаметър Bulgarian লঘুগুরু দ্বিদল পঞ্চপর্বিক ছন্দ Bengali/Bangla Jambischer Fünfheber German Kvinjambo Esperanto Pentámetro yámbico Spanish پنجوتدی یامبیک Persian Jambinen pentametri Finnish Pentamètre iambique French Pentrámetro iámbico Galician Pentametro giambico Italian
Iambic pentameter (/aɪˌæmbɪk pɛnˈtæmɪtər/ eye-AM-bik pen-TAM-it-ər) is a type of metric line used in traditional English poetry and verse drama. The term describes the rhythm, or meter, established by the words in each line. Rhythm is measured in small groups of syllables called "feet". "Iambic" indicates that the type of foot used is the iamb, which in English is an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable (as in a-BOVE). "Pentameter" indicates that each line has five "feet".
Iambic pentameter is the most common meter in English poetry. It was first introduced into English by Chaucer in the 14th century on the basis of French and Italian models. It is used in several major English poetic forms, including blank verse, the heroic couplet, and some of the traditionally rhymed stanza forms. William Shakespeare famously used iambic pentameter in his plays and sonnets,[1] John Milton in his Paradise Lost, and William Wordsworth in The Prelude.
As lines in iambic pentameter usually contain ten syllables, it is considered a form of decasyllabic verse.
- ^ "Poetry 101: What Is a Shakespearean Sonnet? Learn About Shakespearean Sonnets With Examples". MasterClass. Master Class. Retrieved 11 November 2020.