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Reading iambic pentameter

Richard Danson Brown explains how the major line of English verse works in practice

The Cave of Despair (1772) by Benjamin West
BRIDGEMAN ART LIBRARY

Understanding how poetry works is crucial to all specifications

This article will help you understand what at first sounds like one of the more baffling literary terms — iambic pentameter. I want to give you more confidence in reading English verse, with an alert ear for how this standard rhythmic counter is manipulated by sophisticated poets and dramatists.

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Previous

The King James Bible and its literary legacy

Next

Conrad’s use of setting in Heart of Darkness

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