Meaning & use
iambic syllables
Last updated
Meaning
nounplural
Syllables arranged in a pattern of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable, common in English poetry.
Grammar: Used as a plural noun; the singular is 'iambic syllable'. The pattern itself is called an iamb.
Patterns
- iambic syllables in a line
- a pattern of iambic syllables
In the line 'The sun did shine', the words fall into iambic syllables: the sun / did shine.
Shakespeare wrote much of his verse in lines built from iambic syllables.
Word forms
| singular | iambic syllable |
|---|
Common combinations
- a line of iambic syllables
- The poem opens with a line of iambic syllables that sounds like a heartbeat.
- pattern of iambic syllables
- Students marked the pattern of iambic syllables with dashes and dots.
- iambic rhythm
- The iambic rhythm gives the speech a steady, formal feel.
- iambic pentameter
- Iambic pentameter is a line of five iambs, or ten iambic syllables.
Synonyms and how they differ
- iambic feet
- More technical: a foot is the unit of two syllables, while 'iambic syllables' describes the syllables themselves.
- iambs
- Shorter and more common in linguistics; each iamb is one unstressed plus one stressed syllable.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: iambic syllables or trochaic? iambic syllables or anapestic?
iambic syllables vs trochaic
Trochaic syllables are the opposite pattern: stressed followed by unstressed, as in 'DOU-ble'.
iambic syllables vs anapestic
Anapestic syllables come in groups of three: unstressed, unstressed, stressed.
Practice
Which word has iambic syllables?
Choose one answer.
'About' is pronounced with a weak first syllable and a strong second (a-BOUT), the iambic pattern. 'Table' and 'happy' are trochaic (strong-weak), and 'elephant' has three syllables with a different stress pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “iambic syllables”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.