Poetry and Meter
in William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar
Shakespeare wrote his plays nearly four hundred years ago, and because of this some of the
conventions he uses in his plays present problems for modern readers. Most of Shakespeare’s lines are
written in poetry. Although these lines don’t usually rhyme, they do have a set rhythm called meter. To
achieve this meter, Shakespeare arranges words so that stressed syllables or ones said more loudly than
others fall in a regular pattern: dah DUM dah DUM dah DUM dah DUM dah DUM. For example, read
the following line from ACT II, scene ii of Julius Caesar aloud:
Cowards die many times before their deaths;
The valiant never taste of death but once.
You naturally stressed every second syllable, because you are familiar with the words that Caesar speaks
here. Try exaggerating this by saying the second syllable (in all caps below) louder than the first.
CoWARDS die MANy TIMES beFORE their DEATHS,
The VALiant NEVer TASTE of DEATH but ONCE.
This pattern of one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one, dah DUM, is called an iamb.
Each pattern of meter is called a foot. This line, like almost every line of the play spoken by an upperclass sane character, is in a specific type of verse or poetry called iambic pentameter (insane or lowerclass characters tend to speak in prose or regular language). This means it uses five iambic feet of meter
per line. These lines do not need to rhyme to be naturally pleasing to the ear. In fact, poetry made up of
unrhymed iambic pentameter is known as blank verse. It was popular during Shakespeare’s time to
write in blank verse, but it is not always easy. In order for Shakespeare to maintain the set meter of
lines, he often structures the lines differently from normal English speech. He may change the normal
order of words so that stressed syllables fall in the appropriate places. For example, Brutus says “You
shall not in your funeral speech blame us.” instead of “Do not blame us in your funeral speech.”
It is helpful in understanding iambic pentameter and blank verse to be able to scan or label the
meter in each line. This is done by labeling each unstressed syllable by drawing a “u” over each one and
labeling each stressed syllable by drawing a “-“ over each one. It is also important to separate each iamb
with “/” to make sure you have labeled all five. Try scanning the following lines Calpurnia speaks to
Julius Caesar in Act II, scene ii. Remember each line should have five iambs, have ten syllables, start
with an unstressed syllable, and end with a stressed one.
Your wisdom is consumed in confidence.
Do not go forth today. Call it my fear
That keeps you in the house and not your own.
Sometimes, however, Shakespeare rhymes lines in iambic pentameter. These rhyming couplets
are usually found at the end of scenes, acts, and entire plays. They let the audience know the moment is
over. Sometimes Shakespeare also uses these couplets to give importance to a magic speaker or a
moment of foreshadowing. Try scanning this rhyming couplet Brutus speaks at the end of Act V, scene
iii,
‘Tis three a clock; and Romans, yet ere night
We shall try fortune in a second fight.
Julius Caesar, like all of Shakespeare’s plays, is full of these wonderful passages in blank verse
and rhyming couplets. Below is a list of the major terms addressed in these pages. These are not the
only poetic elements this play posses, but they are a good place to start. Take some time now to look
back at the information on this sheet define these terms below, and look for examples of them as you
read later. (Hint- Some of these terms are defined on this sheet, but you may need your textbook to look
up others. The important thing is to make sure you understand them all)
prose
verse
drama
verse drama
syllables
meter
foot
iamb
iambic pentameter
blank verse
rhyming couplet
scan