An iamb or iambus is a metrical foot used in various types of poetry. Originally the term referred to one of the feet of the quantitative meter of classical Greek prosody: a short syllable followed by a long syllable (as in i-amb). This terminology was adopted in the description of accentual-syllabic verse in English, where it refers to a foot comprising an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable (as in a-bove). In verse, a foot is the basic unit of meter used to describe rhythm. ... The Chinese poem Quatrain on Heavenly Mountain by Emperor Gaozong (Song Dynasty) Poetry (from the Greek , poiesis, a making or creating) is a form of art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its ostensible meaning. ... A scale for measuring mass A quantitative property is one that exists in a range of magnitudes, and can therefore be measured. ... Accentual-Syllabic Verse is an extension of Accentual verse which fixes both the number of stresses and syllables within a line or stanza. ...

In accentual-syllabic verse we could describe an iamb as a foot that goes like this: Accentual-Syllabic Verse is an extension of Accentual verse which fixes both the number of stresses and syllables within a line or stanza. ...

Using the 'ictus and x' notation (see systems of scansion for a full discussion of various notations) we can write this as: There are almost as many systems of marking the scansion of a poem as there are books on the topic. ...

The word 'attempt' is a natural iamb:

Iambic pentameter is one of the most commonly used measures in English and German poetry. A line of iambic pentameter comprises five consecutive iambs. Iambic pentameter is a meter in poetry. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The Chinese poem Quatrain on Heavenly Mountain by Emperor Gaozong (Song Dynasty) Poetry (from the Greek , poiesis, a making or creating) is a form of art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its ostensible meaning. ...

Iambic trimeter is the metre of the spoken verses in Greek tragedy and comedy. In English accentual-syllabic verse, iambic trimeter is a line comprising three iambs. Iambic trimeter is an ancient metre consisting of three iambic metra (each consisting of two iambi) used in the spoken verses of the Greek tragedy and comedy. ...

Another common iambic form is ballad verse, in which a line of iambic tetrameter is succeeded by a line of iambic trimeter, usually in quatrain form. In poetry, a tetrameter is a line of four metrical feet: And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea (Anapaest tetrameter) (Byron, The Destruction of Sennacherib) You who are bent and bald and blind (Iambic tetrameter, except for the first foot which is a trochee) (W... A quatrain is a poem or a stanza within a poem that consists of four lines. ...

A. B. Paterson wrote much of his poetry in iambic heptameter (which is sometimes called the 'fourteener'), and Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner also conforms to this stress pattern (although it is usually written as though it were composed of lines alternating between iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter). Andrew Barton Banjo Paterson (February 17, 1864 - February 5, 1941) was a famous Australian bush poet, journalist and author. ... Heptameter is one or more lines of verse containing seven metrical feet (usually fourteen or twenty-one syllables). ... Samuel Taylor Coleridge (October 21, 1772 – July 25, 1834) (pronounced ) was an English poet, critic, and philosopher who was, along with his friend William Wordsworth, one of the founders of the Romantic Movement in England and one of the Lake Poets. ... One of a set of engraved metal plate illustrations by Gustave Doré. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is a poem written by the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1797–1799 and published in the first edition of Lyrical Ballads (1798). ... In poetry, a tetrameter is a line of four metrical feet: And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea (Anapaest tetrameter) (Byron, The Destruction of Sennacherib) You who are bent and bald and blind (Iambic tetrameter, except for the first foot which is a trochee) (W...

The reverse of an iamb is called a trochee. A trochee or choree, choreus, is a metrical foot used in formal poetry. ...

Examples

Ballad Verse (Tetrameter and Trimeter)

A narrow fellow in the grass

Occasionally rides. (Emily Dickinson)

This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Tetrameter

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe. (Lewis Carroll, "Jabberwocky")

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) – believed to be a self-portrait Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (IPA: ) (January 27, 1832 – January 14, 1898), better known by the pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican clergyman and photographer. ... The Jabberwock, as illustrated by John Tenniel Jabberwocky is a poem of nonsense verse written by Lewis Carroll, and found as a part of his novel Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (1871). ...

Pentameter

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield. (Alfred Tennyson, "Ulysses")

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? (William Shakespeare, Sonnet 18)

Lord Tennyson, Poet Laureate Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (August 6, 1809 - October 6, 1892) is generally regarded as one of the greatest English poets. ... Ulysses is a poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson, written in 1833 but not published until 1842. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Heptameter

I s'pose the flats is pretty green up there in Ironbark. (A. B. Paterson, The Man from Ironbark)

Key: Andrew Barton Banjo Paterson (February 17, 1864 - February 5, 1941) was a famous Australian bush poet, journalist and author. ... The Man From Ironbark is a famous poem by Australian bush poet Banjo Paterson. ...

• Non-bold = unstressed syllable
• Bold = stressed syllable

See also

Anapaest An anapaest or anapest, also called antidactylus, is a metrical foot used in formal poetry. ...