Definition

1. Noun:
   • A line of verse consisting of five metrical feet: In poetry, a "pentameter" is a specific type of metrical line. A "foot" is a basic unit of rhythm, typically consisting of a combination of stressed and unstressed syllables. Therefore, a pentameter line contains five of these rhythmic units.

Usage and Examples

• Noun:
  • Iambic pentameter is the most common meter in English poetry. (This describes a line with five iambs, where an iamb is a foot with an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one.)
  • The sonnet is traditionally written in iambic pentameter. (This states the conventional metrical pattern for the sonnet form.)
  • He struggled to maintain a consistent pentameter throughout the long poem. (This refers to the challenge of keeping each line to five metrical feet.)

Advanced Usage

• "Blank verse": Unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter.
  • Shakespeare's plays are largely written in blank verse.
• "Heroic couplet": Two successive rhyming lines of iambic pentameter.
  • The poet used heroic couplets to give the narrative a formal, closed feel.

Variants and Related Words

• Iambic Pentameter (n): The most frequent type of pentameter in English, using iambic feet (da-DUM).
• Dactylic Pentameter (n): A pentameter line using dactylic feet (DUM-da-da), less common in English.
• Pentametrist (n, rare): A writer of pentameter verse.

Synonyms

• Five-foot line: A more descriptive, less technical synonym.
• Metrical line of five feet: A descriptive phrase.

Related Terms (Not Phrasal Verbs or Idioms)

• Meter: The overall rhythmic structure of a verse.
• Foot: The basic repeating rhythmic unit in a line of poetry (e.g., iamb, trochee, dactyl).
• Hexameter: A line of six metrical feet.
• Tetrameter: A line of four metrical feet.

Noun

1. a verse line having five metrical feet