Poetry Kaleidoscope

Iamb

Common Metre | Iambic Heptameter | Iambic Pentameter | Iambic Trimeter

An iamb is a metrical foot used in formal poetry. It is characterised by a short (unstressed) syllable followed by a long (stressed) one. The opposite is a trochee, which is characterised by a long syllable followed by a short one.

Iambic pentameter is one of the most powerful measures in English and German poetry.

Iambic trimeter is the metre of the spoken verses in Greek tragedy and comedy.

Non-bold = short syllable
Bold = long syllable

Examples:

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield. – Alfred Tennyson

And:

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? – William Shakespeare

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