adjective / noun
iambic
eye-AM-bik/aɪˈæmbɪk/
A poetic rhythm built from pairs of syllables, each unstressed then stressed.
The poem's iambic rhythm moves from unstressed to stressed syllables.
Etymology
From iambos, the adjective describes verse employing iambs. Classical iambic rhythm depended on syllable length, whereas the selected English sense describes an unstressed-then-stressed pattern.
In context
iambic pentameter should sound natural so if it seems forced to emphasize the syllables in the unstressed and stressed pattern it's probably not perfect iambic pentameter
More examples
- The word "awake" has an iambic stress pattern.
- We practice iambic pentameter by writing five unstressed–stressed pairs.
- The poet breaks the iambic pattern to emphasize one word.
Forms
iambic · iambics
iamb noun — A foot with unstressed then stressed syllables.
Similar words
- rising
- Includes other rhythms that move from unstressed to stressed syllables.
- metrical
- Describes patterned verse generally, not specifically unstressed–stressed pairs.