Pentameter

Pentameter, in poetry, means a line or lines of verse consisting of five metrical feet.

Iambic pentameter
Lines made up of five iambs or iambic feet are called iambic pentameter. In the English language, they contain ten syllables and five stresses. Iambic pentameter is the basis for much of English-language poetry.


 * Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
 * Though art more lovely and more temperate.

Scanned (CAPITALS indicate stressed syllable:)


 * Shall I / comPARE / thee TO / a SUM/mer's DAY?
 * Thou ART / more LOVE/ly AND / more TEM/perATE.

or


 * A little learning is a dangerous thing;
 * Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring:
 * There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,
 * And drinking largely sobers us again.

Scanned:


 * A LIT/tle LEARN/ing IS / a DAN/gerous THING;
 * Drink DEEP, / or TASTE / not THE / PieRI/an SPRING:
 * There SHAL/low DRAUGHTS / inTOX/iCATE / the BRAIN,
 * And DRIN/king LARGE/ly sob/ers US / aGAIN.

Dactylic pentameter
Pentameter may also refer to the dactylic pentameter of antiquity.

Number of feet per line

 * Monometer - one
 * Dimeter - two
 * Trimeter - three
 * Tetrameter - four
 * Pentameter - five
 * Hexameter - six
 * Heptameter - seven