iambus
Short-long syllable pair
An iambus is a metrical foot in poetry consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable: da-DUM.
It forms the basis of iambic pentameter, the dominant rhythm in English verse from Shakespeare to formal poetry today.
The plural is iambi or iambuses.
Also called an iamb.
Five-foot poetic line
- hexameterSix-foot poetic line
- tetrameterFour-foot poetic line
- trimeterThree metrical feet
- dimeterTwo-foot poetic line
foot · metrical foot · scansion · prosody · stress pattern · syllable · accentuation · thesis
Fourteen-line metered poem
- blank verseUnrhymed iambic pentameter
- heroic coupletRhymed pentameter pair
- coupletTwo successive verse lines
- quatrainFour-line poetic unit
stanza · octave · sestet · Shakespeare · Marlowe · Pope · dramatic verse · Greek drama
pentameter
Five-foot poetic line
- hexameterSix-foot poetic line
- tetrameterFour-foot poetic line
- trimeterThree metrical feet
dimeter · foot · metrical foot · scansion · prosody · stress pattern · syllable · accentuation · thesis · quantitative
sonnet
Fourteen-line metered poem
- blank verseUnrhymed iambic pentameter
- heroic coupletRhymed pentameter pair
- coupletTwo successive verse lines
quatrain · stanza · octave · sestet · Shakespeare · Marlowe · Pope · dramatic verse · Greek drama · dialogue
trochee
Stressed-then-unstressed foot
- iambic pentameterUnstressed-stressed pattern, five feet
- iambic versePoetry with rising rhythm