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How Iambic Pentameter Works

by Kent Richmond

With the exception of the Merry Wives of Windsor, which is 90% prose, Shakespeare’s plays offer generous servings of a verse line known as iambic pentameter (also called blank verse when unrhymed). Some of his early plays are almost entirely in this form, and all but four plays are at least 50% verse. So it is useful to understand something of iambic pentameter in order to develop an ear for its complex rhythms and to appreciate its dramatic uses.

What is Iambic Pentameter?

The term iambic pentameter has three parts which together give a rough description of this verse form. The term meter refers to a pattern of rhythm. If you pronounce most two-syllable words in a natural way, you will sense a rhythm, with one syllable receiving more energy than the other. Say the words in (1) and note the different rhythms:

(1) táble (stressed/unstressed)

Do Exercise 1

     prefér (unstressed/stressed)

An accent mark over a vowel indicates that the syllable containing that vowel is pronounced with more energy than the syllable without the accent mark. We call this increased energy “stress,”² and an accented syllable is called a stressed syllable. Syllables with less energy are called “unstressed.”

Iambic refers to a pattern of meter where an unstressed syllable precedes a stressed syllable. The words in (2) have an iambic rhythm and each forms a metrical unit known as an iamb:

(2) affórd, forbíd, inféct, adópt

Two-word sequences can also have an iambic rhythm.

Do Exercise 2

(3) a bít, the mán, to gó, is mád, of míne

The term penta (five) tells us how many instances of this iambic rhythm make up a line. Each instance is traditionally called a foot, so an iambic pentameter line has five iambic feet, or iambs. In these ten-syllable lines of five iambs (4), observe how the the second syllable in each foot gets more stress than the first syllables.

(4)

Thy gláss/ will shów/ thee hów/ thy béau/ties wéar/  (Sonnet 77, line 1)

And cáll/ upón/ my sóul/ withín/ the hóuse/  (Twelfth Night, 1.5.251)

Beshréw/ that héart/ that mákes/ my héart/ to gróan/  (Sonnet 133, line 1)

We sense that the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, and 10th syllables (marked with ´) receive more emphasis than the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th syllables. In (5), the line has ten syllables, but notice that it is not iambic pentameter. If we use the jargon of verse analysis, we say the line does not scan.

(5) Your éar/sáys the/ rhýthm’s/ nót i/ámbic/

The first foot seems iambic, but then there are heavy stresses on the 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th syllables. The 4th, 6th, 8th and 10th syllables receive no emphasis. If we placed this line after any of the lines in (4), we would not sense a meter developing and would interpret the passage as prose.

(6)

Thy gláss/ will shów/ thee hów/ thy béau/ties wéar/

Do Exercise 3

Your éar/sáys the/ rhýthm’s/ nót i/ámbic/

One appealing feature of iambic pentameter is that it sounds like verse yet seems natural. The perfectly iambic lines in (7) were randomly selected from different plays. Read them in sequence and notice how they sound rhythmical without seeming “sing-songy” or bouncy.

(7)

Expóse/ thysélf/ to féel/ what wrétch/es féel/ (King Lear, 3.4.39)

In wóm/en’s wáx/en héarts/ to sét/ their fórms/   (Twelfth Night, 2.2.30)

To bréathe/ such vóws/ as lóv/ers úse/ to swéar/  (Romeo and Juliet, 2. Prologue. 10)

The three lines, though not sing-songy, do sound rhythmically monotonous. Imagine a play with 2500 such lines pounding away one after the other. The effect would surely be deadening, and dramatists would be severely limited in the kinds of sentences they could write and the vocabulary they could use. So they relax the rules a bit.³ Most of these deviations fall into two categories: adding extra syllables and altering the iambic meter.

Adding Extra Syllables

There are three common ways to increase the number of syllables beyond ten.

Feminine Endings

If every line had to end with an iamb, many, if not most, two syllable words—mother, pantry, person, hungry—could never end a line. So iambic lines allow an extra unstressed eleventh syllable (even a twelfth) at the end of line. This eleventh syllable is called a feminine ending, and about 10% of the lines in Shakespeare’s early plays and about 30% in his later plays have such endings. The lines from (4) have been modified to show how the feminine ending sounds.

(8)

Thy gláss/ will shów/ thee hów/ thy béau/ties wéath/er.

And cáll/ upón/ my sóul/ withín/ the pán/try

Beshréw/ that héart/ that mákes/ my héart/ to súf/fer

The words weather, pantry, and suffer provide the 10th and 11th syllables in these lines, but because the 11th is unstressed, the lines still sound iambic to the trained ear. If feminine endings are allowed, then almost any word can be worked into the end of an iambic pentameter line. In fact, we can easily make the unmetrical line (5) acceptable if we add a syllable at the beginning of the line to push the stressed syllables into the even-numbered positions. Since the 11th syllable is unstressed, it counts as a feminine ending.

(9) And réc/ogníze/ the rhýth/m’s nów/ iámb/ic

Do Exercise 4

Syllable Deletions

Lines can also have extra syllables if a syllable can be dropped without the word becoming unintelligible or sounding unnatural. Note how many three-syllable words can become two-syllable words in rapid or slightly slurred speech.

(10) interest (intrist)

        Goneril (gonril)

        monument (mon^yment)

        Romeo (romyo)

        traveler (travler)

        Juliet (Julyet)

        Viola (vyola)

        valiant (valyent)

The trick in “scanning” Shakespeare is to anticipate whether he intends such words to be two or three syllables. As you read Shakespeare, be prepared for slurrings (traditionally called elision or syncope) that may appear odd, incomprehensible, or archaic to modern speakers such as to’t (to it), e’en (even), show’th (showeth), upon’t (upon it), and lov’st (lovest).⁴

Do Exercise 5

Epic Caesura

Lines can have an extra unstressed syllable right before a major punctuation break, a variation called epic caesura (“says you’re a...”). Note in (11) that the second syllable of the word kingdom is unstressed and precedes a major punctuation break. This extra eleventh syllable is not added to the syllable count, creating a mid-line feminine ending of sorts.

(11)

                                 ....Know that we have divided

In thrée/ our kíng/dom; and ‘tís/ our fást/ intént  (King Lear, 1.1.39-41)

If we allow a feminine ending, slurring, and an epic caesura in a single line, we can produce a fairly complex line that stays within the rules of iambic pentameter. How would you scan this thirteen-syllable line (12) from Twelfth Night? Is it iambic pentameter?

(12) Even in a minute. So full of shapes is fancy   (Twelfth Night, 1.1.14)

Some scholars question the meter of this line, but here’s a try at scanning it. Even is slurred to E’en. The second, unstressed syllable of minute is not counted because it precedes a major punctuation break (epic caesura), and the second, unstressed syllable of fancy is a feminine ending.

(13) E’en in/ a min/ute. So full/ of shapes/ is fan/cy

Shakespeare is pushing the limits here, especially for contemporary speakers who have trouble slurring even to e’en, but the line technically qualifies as iambic pentameter.

Do Exercise 6

Altering the Meter

Besides an iambic rhythm, a two-syllable foot can have three other rhythms: trochaic, spondaic, and pyrrhic, as shown in the table. These rhythms can be worked into an iambic pentameter line in various ways.

Spondees

A spondaic foot—one where both syllables are likely to be stressed—can occur anywhere in an iambic line. Spondees work well at the beginning of a line as these revisions of the lines from (4) show.

(14)

Bíll’s gláss/ will shów/ thee hów/ thy béau/ties wéar/

Cáll nów/ upón/ my sóul/ withín/ the hóuse/

Cúrse nót/ that héart/ that mákes/ my héart/ to gróan/

In (15), spondees (in boldface) are worked into the middle and end of lines.

(15)

Thy gláss/ will shów/ Bíll hów/ thy béau/ties wéar/

Upón/ my sóul/ withín/ the hóuse,/ cáll nów/

Beshréw/ that héart/ that mákes/ Bób’s héart/ to gróan/

Spondees have an interesting effect: they slow down the line. Speakers need time to give stressed syllables extra energy, so lines filled with spondees have a deliberate, pounding rhythm. A line from King Lear demonstrates this clearly.

(16) Nó, nó,/ nó, nó./ Cóme, lét’s/ awáy/ to príson/   (King Lear, 5.3.9)

Trochees

If every iambic pentameter line had to begin with an iamb, then most English words could not start a line. Yet a quick look at Shakespeare’s sonnets reveals a different reality. We find these poems start with stressed one-syllable words (look, when, not, but, let, lord, how, why, full, take, sin, thus, love), and trochaic two-syllable words (béing, wéary, músic, Cúpid)—all words or phrases that start off the line with a stressed syllable.

Iambic pentameter solves this problem by allowing a trochaic rhythm to start a line (sometimes called inversion). These modified versions of (4) are all acceptable iambic pentameter lines.

(17)

Mírrors/ will shów/ thee hów/ thy béau/ties wéar/

Cálling/ upón/ my sóul/ withín/ the hóuse/

Cúrsing/ that héart/ that mákes/ my héart/ to gróan/

Trochaic words can also occur in the middle of a line if they follow a strongly stressed syllable or a major punctuation break. In (18), haply has a trochaic rhythm, but it is allowed because it follows a major punctuation break. It also follows the heavily stressed word all.

(18) They lóve/ you áll?/ Háply/, when I/ shall wéd/  (King Lear, 1.1.110)

Phrases that appear to be trochaic are permitted if they fall within a sequence of one-syllable words. In the 3rd foot of (19), we would normally expect the word love to get more emphasis than which, yielding the trochaic rhythm /lóve, which/.

(19) A bróth/er’s déad/ lóve, which/ she would/ kéep frésh/   (Twelfth Night, 1.1.30)

This reading sounds like prose. But notice that the word which is surrounded by one-syllable words. In this environment, rarely-stressed words such as the, which, of, is, and been can be stressed to preserve an iambic rhythm without sounding unnatural, as in (20).

(20) A bróth/er’s déad/ love, whích/ she wóuld/ keep frésh/

Actors may choose not to give the line an iambic rhythm, but the fact that they can qualifies the line as iambic pentameter. (See "Listening for Phrasal Stress" in the Reading Tips at the end of this article for more information on this point)

Pyrrhic Feet

Normally, pyrrhic feet do not cause a problem. A foot with two unstressed syllables glides right by without upsetting the meter. The lines in (21) show typical uses of pyrrhic feet (in bold italics).

(21)

For she/ did speak/ in starts/ distract/edly/

She loves/ me sure./ The cun/ning of/ her passion/

Invites/ in me/ this chur/lish mes/senger. /   (Twelfth Night, 2.2.20-22)

© 2014 by Kent Richmond

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