Iamb

In poetry, an iamb is a metrical foot consisting of two syllables, with the first syllable being unstressed and the second syllable being stressed. Though this metrical foot is common in English poetry but its use is often in the composition of sonnets and other forms of verse.

Types of Iamb

There are two main types of iamb: the regular iamb and the inverted iamb. The regular iamb follows the unstressed-stressed pattern, while the inverted iamb follows the stressed-unstressed pattern.

Examples of Iamb

Regular Iamb Example:

• com-plain
• be-hold
• re-lease
• in-vite
• be-cause

Inverted Iamb Example:

• he came
• un-known
• un-til
• de-spite
• be-fore

Use of it by famous poets

Many famous poets have used iambic meter in their poems to create a sense of rhythm and musicality. Here are some examples of iambic meter in famous poems by renowned poets.

William Shakespeare

Shakespeare is one of the greatest poets in English literature. In his sonnets, he often uses iambic pentameter, a form of iambic meter consisting of five iambs per line. Here are three examples of iambic pentameter in Shakespeare’s sonnets:

• “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” (Sonnet 18)
• “When forty winters shall besiege thy brow,” (Sonnet 2)
• “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun,” (Sonnet 130)

John Keats

Keats was a renowned English Romantic poet who is famous for his odes and sonnets. He often used iambic meter in his poems to create a sense of musicality and rhythm. Here are three examples of iambic meter in Keats’ poetry:

• “The day is gone, and all its sweets are gone!” (When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be)
• “O, for a draught of vintage! that hath been / Cool’d a long age in the deep-delved earth” (Ode to a Nightingale)
• “Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn” (To Autumn)

Samuel Taylor Colerdige

Coleridge was an English Romantic poet who is famous for his narrative poems and lyrical ballads. He often used iambic meter in his poems to create a sense of rhythm and musicality. Here are three examples of iambic meter in Coleridge’s poetry:

• “In Xanadu did Kubla Khan / A stately pleasure-dome decree” (Kubla Khan)
• “He prayeth best, who loveth best / All things both great and small” (The Rime of the Ancient Mariner)
• “A savage place! as holy and enchanted / As e’er beneath a waning moon was haunted” (Kubla Khan)

Robert Frost

Frost was a famous American poet who is known for his pastoral and rural themes. He often used iambic meter in his poems to create a sense of rhythm and musicality. Here are three examples of iambic meter in Frost’s poetry:

• “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,” (The Road Not Taken)
• “Whose woods these are I think I know” (Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening)
• “Nature’s first green is gold, / Her hardest hue to hold” (Nothing Gold Can Stay)

Use of Iamb in Poetry

Iambic meter is a common meter in poetry, and it can take on different forms depending on the number of iambs per line and the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables. Here are some of the common forms of iamb in poetry:

1. Iambic Pentameter Definition: This is a form of iambic meter consisting of five iambs per line. It is a popular meter in English poetry and is often used in sonnets, blank verse, and other forms of verse.

Iambic Pentameter Example: “When I con-si-der how my light is spent” – John Milton, “Sonnet XIX”

2. Iambic Tetrameter Definition: This is a form of iambic meter consisting of four iambs per line. It is a less common meter in English poetry but is still in use in some forms of verse, such as hymns and ballads.

Iambic Tetrameter Example: “Be-neath the tree’s im-mem-o-ri-al shade” – Thomas Gray, “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard”

3. Iambic Trimeter Definition: This is a form of iambic meter consisting of three iambs per line. It is also a less common meter in English poetry but in some forms of verse, such as limericks and haikus.

“I sing the praise of lov-ing com-pa-ny” – Alexander Pope, “Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot” is Iambic trimeter example.

4. Iambic Dimeter Definition: This is a form of iambic meter consisting of two iambs per line. It is the shortest and least common form of iambic meter in English poetry and is often in use for light and playful verse.

“Baa, baa, black sheep, have you any wool?” – Nursery Rhyme is an Iambic dimeter example.

Overall, the iambic meter is a versatile and widely used meter in English poetry that can take on different forms depending on the number of iambs per line and the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables.