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In a line of poetry written in perfect iambic pentameter, there are five unstressed syllables, each of which is followed by a stressed syllable. Each pair of syllables is a metrical foot called an iamb. Much of the greatest poetry in English has been written in iambic pentameter; Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Milton used it more than any other meter. Robert Frost's line "I'm going out to clean the pasture spring" is an example of it; his "And miles to go before I sleep" is instead an example of iambic tetrameter, with only four accented syllables.
Examples of pentameter in a Sentence
Rebecca Coffey, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Screenwriter Michael Lesslie oversaw this adaptation, which carries with it unfortunate relics of an earlier time — not the iambic pentameter, which is sacred, but references to kings and lords and a royal society that doesn’t translate one bit to the modern corporate world.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 30 Aug. 2025
The Best Cocktail for Poetry Fans: Negroni Lyrical writers like Shakespeare and John Keats often relied on iambic pentameter: verses that contain five 10-syllable lines.
—Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 29 June 2025
The movie does use certain software in order to ensure that the rhymes of Dr Seuss’ famous feline creation are structured in iambic pentameter, Carloni explained.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 11 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for pentameter
Cite this Entry
“Pentameter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pentameter. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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pentameter
noun
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