Iambic Pentameter—oh boy!

Robin Williams • i Read Shakespeare • International Shakespeare Center Santa Fe

Coming soon: The Wild Thrill of Iambic Pentameter and how Shakespeare uses it to tell you so much. The phrase “iambic pentameter" is a great thing to roll off your tongue, and it's even more fun to use it at a dinner party when you actually know what it means and how it works.

In this course you will find:

  • A more in-depth look at iambic pentameter and its permutations:
    • Feminine endings, or 11-syllable lines
    • Lines that start with trochees instead of iambs—why?
    • Headless lines—what might they indicate?
    • Short lines
    • How the meter is affected and what that might indicate to the reader or actor about what's going on
  • A visual display of Shakespeare's meter as compared to other writers of the time.

It really is quite gratifying to notice the differences in the language and talk about what they might signify.

How can you pass this up for only $5?