Shakespeare: Iambic Pentameter, the Beat of the 16th Century

[jimmyvon789]

So......it's how everyone normally talks then?

[XbellaBoxerchicX]

wait ....so the iambic pentameter always starts with short?

[AnemicChia]

@broadpath I think this example is clearer. It isn't Iambic Pentameter, but it's still Iambic. It's just that there aren't five iambic foots, but four and three. This is from a very famous poem by Emily Dickinson:

beCAUSE i COULD not STOP for DEATH,

he KINDly STOPPED for ME;

the CARRiage HELD but JUST ourSELVES

and IMmorTAliTY.

Notice how it's still Iambic, because it's a pattern of - / - / - / - / (short LONG short LONG short LONG short LONG), as opposed to / - / - / - / - (LONG short etc.)

[IndianaWren]

Come bite my thumb, i hope you know the stakes. :)

[tzebra]

da DUM da DUM da DUM... unstressed stressed - / - / - / - / - /

ergo...when I do COUNT the CLOCK that TELLS the TIME.

Listen to a heart beat--this is a common rhythm (da DUM da DUM thump THUMP thump THUMP)

when BEATS the HEARTS a RHYTHM is HEARD... ;-)

[broadpath]

A short syllable followed by a long syllable. And the example used begins with "Shall I" Is it just me, or is "shall" a longer syllable than "I"? "Com pare" - neither is longer. "Thee to" - "thee" is longer and it is the first syllable.

Why can't they give a stronger example that really shows the beat?

[chifilietsz]

shall I/comPARE/thee TO/a SUM/mer's DAY

or this one? I think I'm getting it ^_^

[chifilietsz]

Shall i/compare thee/to a/summer's day

is this right?

[semperreg]

I understand because i've learned about stress and unstress syllables. With this video, i understand nothing.(and the diction at the end is very bad)

i am so happy to know that English kids play with it. A non pedagogical video !

Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooo !

[tierneye1]

STRESSED, unstressed, get it now? I think I understand. SHALL i COMpare THEE to A sumMER'S day?

[2012UKOlympics]

A Not for profit exhibition....MILLENNIUM SHAKESPEARE art exhibition ... MSAE during the Olympics 2012

[AbdulKabir9]

under/stand

[XdarklinkxX]

Ah yes!/ I un/derstand/ this way/ of speech/.

I don't/ see why/ that you/ cannot/ get it/.

Although/ speaking/ in verse/ can be/ quite hard/.

[stuartjohnstonsr]

Everyone should at least understand the dimensions of powerful poetry. Politicians through the ages have employed this device.:) Enjoy and maybe learn?

[stuartjohnstonsr]

Everyone should at least understand the dimensions of powerful poetry. Politicians through the ages have employed this device.:) Enjoy and maybe learn?

[MultiChestnut]

this was a really helpfull video, because it helps me with my coursework :-)

[Krondelo]

Seriously people how hard is this to understand!? All it is is a simple beat. I guess you guys are over thinking it, its really not complicated at all.

[poetluver10]

This is a very helpful video! I too did not understand Iambic Pentameter for the longest time, and I write and love to read poetry. And as for the arrogant, and obviously ignorant, Aussie..get a grip dude. America has produced a plethora of good literature in its short history. We do not simply rehearse and rehash good English poetry over here, we create! Can you say as much for your country? Hmm?

[worldreversal]

so it's how you stress the syllables :D?

[britmanuk]

oh for

a muse

of fire -

that would

as cend

the bright

est

[britmanuk]

de dum de dum de dum de dum de dum

[FunnyorDieGuy]

my head hurts

[1drasque4]

but lik...how do u describe the iambic pentameter in a sonnet? eg...shakespeare uses the iambic pentameter of 10 beats? to create somefing...somefing? is that the right way to measure it? O_Oim confused by my own question...lol

[Hesperiahater]

i still dont get it!

[uza3]

@Hesperiahater damn right

[chrissline77]

SHALL i COMpare THEE to A sumMER'S day?

[markbackshall]

Its not my plan to be unkind,but how do people who dont speak English,set themselves up as experts on this subject?

If they wish to say things like "he wrote me",

instead of "to me", or " veeehikel" instead of "car" , or" Waarter" instead of " water",

then that is up to them. Leave the study of English Poetry to those people who have the tools to do the job.Have a nice day because it Awesome.Here in Aussie they are totally uncouth but at least they are honest and straightforward.

[imdbbookaholic]

I'm Australian, of English-Scottish-Californian descent, and found it very disconcerting the first time I heard Shakespeare in American accents, but some American accents are closer to the English accents of Shakespeare's day than to English-English accents today (or Australian-English accents, for that matter) - or so linguists say.

[elisemac]

Where did that comment even come from? The speakers in this video clearly speak a perfectly fine quality of English... I'll go so far as to say I would bet English is in fact each of their first spoken languages. The Folger Shakespeare Library is a pretty respectable resource and I assume the linguists employed there understand the English language just fine.

[lee082283]

You smoke crack der in Aussie too? I dig how you adamantly defend english poetry but then jack up your sentence structure like, "fliff, not even countin' it."

So vanguard.

[catgumart]

i still dont get iambic pentameter

[Krondelo]

Really? I am not frowning upon you but I understand it completely. I think it helps being a musician, you see music really is meant to be it flows just like our words. To me I just think of it as a certain rhythm. Haha, now I see it is a bit hard to explain though.

[IveBeenToTheYear3000]

Iambic pentameter, you gotta move to the right perameter.

Iambic pentameter, you gotta move to the Shakespeare beat.