Iambic Pentameter and
Sonnets
Iambic Pentameter
• A sound pattern
• Kept things moving in the play (like a drum
beat)
• Made the words & play more interesting
• Helped the actors remember their lines (like
a song)
Iambic
• IAM: one unaccented (or unstressed)
syllable with one accented syllable
• Each IAM of two syllables is called a foot
• It’s like a heartbeat:
– ba-bum | ba-bum | ba-bum | ba-bum | ba-bum
– I AM | I AM | I AM | I AM | I AM
Pentameter
• Penta = 5, Meter = sound
• Iambic Pentameter
– Five “feet” per line
– Ten syllables total per line
– he WENT to TOWN toDAY to BUY a CAR
– In SOOTH / I KNOW / not WHY / I AM / so SAD
Iambic Pentameter
• I saw the goat behind the open fence.
• I saw the behind of the hungry goat!
• Love looks not with the eyes, but with the
mind.
~ The Basics of a Sonnet ~
-Shakespearean Rhyme
SchemeUnderstanding the Quatrains of a Sonnet:
A
B
A
B
C
D
C
D
E
F
E
F
G
G
>
>
>
>
1st Quatrain: Establishes the subject, main theme,
or main metaphor of the sonnet.
2nd Quatrain: Develops the sonnet’s theme.
Extends the metaphor.
3rd Quatrain: Often contains a turn or twist called
a volta, introduced with the word “but.”
4th Quatrain: Rhymed couplet. Conclusion to the
sonnet.
GOAL/OBJECTIVE
• Recognize the characteristics of Shakespearean
sonnet in writing and verbally.
• Compose the first four lines of a Shakespearean
sonnet.
Shakespeare and Sonnets
• Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets in addition to
his plays.
• He even added sonnets into his plays.
– Romeo and Juliet prologue
– When Romeo and Juliet first meet.
What are the characteristics of a
Shakespearean sonnet?
• 14 lines
– 3 quatrains (4 lines each)
– 1 couplet (2 lines)
• Follows the same rhyme scheme:
ABABCDCDEFEFGG
• Each line is written in iambic pentameter
– Each line consists of 10 syllables.
– The syllables are divided into five pairs called iambs.
– An iamb= unstressed syllable followed by one stressed
syllable
Examples of iambic pentameter?
baBOOM/ baBOOM/ baBOOM/ baBOOM/
baBOOM
•How many syllables?
•Pattern?
Examples of Iambic Pentameter
When I / do COUNT/ the CLOCK/ that
TELLS/ the TIME
When IN/ dis GRACE/ with FOR/ tune AND /
men’s EYES
•How many syllables per line?
•Pattern?
• How many syllables per line?
– 10
• Pattern
– Unstressed stressed
Romeo and Juliet Prologue
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.
A
B
A
B
C
D
C
D
E
F
E
F
G
G
Shakespearean Sonnet
1. 14 lines
2. Rhyme scheme: ABABCDCDEFEFGG
3. Iambic pentameter- 10 syllables per line
(unstressed stressed)
Romeo and Juliet Prologue
• Divide the sonnet into syllables and label its
rhyme scheme.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Rhyme
Scheme
Two
house
holds
both
a
like
in
dig
ni
ty
A
In
fair
ve
ro
na
where
we
lay
our
scene
B
Now you try it!!
• Using the rhyme scheme and form of a
Shakespearean sonnet, write your own sonnet
about new love, lost love, a beautiful day, a
terrible day, or anything you wish (as long as it
is appropriate).
• Use grid to write your sonnet. Use a pencil.
• If you cannot come up with a topic, I will
assign one.
Example
• Topic= Friends
On
a
bright
sun
ny
day
I
met
a
friend
I
re
call
the
day
like
It
was
to
day
I
knew
we
would
be
friends
un
til
the
end
I
miss
you
a
lot
since
you
went
a
way
Reflection/Summary
• Recognize the characteristics of Shakespearean
sonnet in writing and verbally.
• Compose the first four lines of a Shakespearean
sonnet.
• Something that is becoming clear to me about
the Shakespearean sonnet…..