Kurt Sutter

Here's the deal with 'Bastard.' I loved that show, and for me, it was such a palate cleanser, going from writing urban vernacular and crime to, essentially, iambic pentameter. I loved the mythology of that world based on history, but what it came down to was money.

American Director

Calvin Trillin

You know, I used to say, when people say, 'How do you think about what to write about in the poems every week?' And I say, 'Well, I have to turn it in on Monday, so on Sunday nights I turn the shower to iambic pentameter and it sort of works out that way.

American Journalist

John C. McGinley

The conventional wisdom with David Mamet is, you do not change a word. And that agrees with me. If you want to change any of David's words, it's like wanting to change the iambic pentameter in Shakespeare - you should do something else.

American Actor

Neil Patrick Harris

It's good to have a lot of once-in-a-lifetimes in your lifetime. If you get the chance to skydive, go skydiving. If you're offered a part in a weird Shakespeare play in San Diego, slap on some tights and rock out some iambic pentameter.

James Fenton

The iambic pentameter owes its pre-eminence in English poetry to its genius for variation. Good blank verse does not sound like a series of identically measured lines. It sounds like a series of subtle variations on the same theme.

British Poet

Richard McCabe

I adored being at the RSC and working on the verse and getting the iambic pentameter right. You just skim across the surface, and the speech is over before you know it. You can just ride along on the music of it.

Scottish Actor

Vikram Seth

You have to learn a few things, which you do along the way, but basically, poetry is a matter of the ear. Iambic pentameters or what constitutes a stanza comes naturally - your ears will know.

Indian Novelist

Ian Doescher

I've spent so much time with iambic pentameter that I can now recognize it when I hear it in conversation or a movie - it's like a weird, useless superpower.

American Writer

A. A. Gill

I tell you, once a girl's got a dose of novels she's a pushover for iambic pentameter.

British Writer

Howard Nemerov

I would talk in iambic pentameter if it were easier.

American Poet

Stress the first syllable: PEN-tuh-meet-er. Helps to pronounce and recognize in poetry.

Pronunciation Clue

Pentameter isn't limited to iambic. It can include other rhythms like trochaic pentameter.

Not Just Iambic

Often found in classic literature, understanding pentameter can enhance enjoyment and analysis.

Literature Connection

 and I learned that iambic pentameter is and why it sounds so good to human ears. I learned that the Civil War was a nationalizing conflict, I learned some physics, I learned that correlation shouldn't be confused with causation -- all of these things, by the way, enriched my life on a literally daily basis.

Paper towns and why...

 The pirate can only walk in iambs, a living reminder of Shakespeare's favorite meter. Iambic pentameter is when he takes ten steps. Our pirate friend can even help us remember how to properly mark it if we image the footprints he leaves walking along a deserted island

Why Shakespeare loved...

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Pentameter

A line of verse that has five metrical feet, often used in poetry.

Often appears as...

Usage tips

Pronunciation Clue

Not Just Iambic

Literature Connection

Never forget "Pentameter"

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