Name: _______________________________________________ Hr: _______ Date: ______________
Romeo and Juliet
Language Worksheet
Iambic Pentameter

Meter refers to the pattern of syllables in a line of poetry or verse.
o The most basic unit of measure in a poem is the syllable and the pattern of syllables in a line, from
stressed to unstressed or vice versa.
o Syllables are paired two and three at a time, depending on the stresses in the sentence.
 Two syllables together is known as a foot.
 When each foot begins with an unstressed (u) syllable followed by a stressed (/), this is known as an iamb.
 Pentameter means “5 meters.” (ex: pentagon – shape with five sides)
 Therefore, a line of poetry written in iambic pentameter has 5 feet, or 5 sets of stressed and unstressed
syllables.
Directions: Examine the Prologue below. Break the lines into syllables, and label each syllable with a stressed or
unstressed symbol.
Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Do with their death bury their parents' strife.
The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,
And the continuance of their parents' rage,
Which, but their children's end, nought could remove,
Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage;
The which if you with patient ears attend,
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.
Other Examples:
From Act I, list at least three other examples where Shakespeare used iambic pentameter. In the boxes, write out a
sampling of the lines (2-3), separate them into syllables and label them using the stressed and unstressed symbols.
Act 1, scene ___, lines _____
Act 1, scene ___, lines _____
Act 1, scene ___, lines _____
What similarities do you notice about the subject matter or when it is used?