mrs p-c blog essai

SHAKESPEAREAN SONNET:

• An iambic pentameter:

#an iamb / ˈaɪ æm /: derives from the Greek. It is a metrical foot consisting of an unstressed syllable [symbol -> ˘ ] and a stressed syllable [symbol-> ^/ ]. For instance: dĕféat [la défaite]. In antiquity the iambic rhythm was thought to be the nearest to speech. In English verse it is the most common type of foot because it fits the prevailing natural pattern of English words and phrases (ta-da ta-da ta-da ta-da).

#a pentameter [from the Greek 'of five measures']: the five-foot line and the basic line in much English verse. E.g.:

Ĭ sáw / thĕ spí / dĕrs már / chĭng throúgh / thĕ áir                   = 5 feet

(I saw the spiders marching through the air)

From Mr Edwards and the Spider by Robert Lowell

_{Source: adapted from Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory by J.A.Cuddon, 1976, 3^rd edition.}