<P> Iambic pentameter / aɪ ˈæmbɪk pɛnˈtæmɪtə / is a commonly used type of metrical line in traditional English poetry and verse drama . The term describes the rhythm that the words establish in that line, which is measured in small groups of syllables called "feet". The word "iambic" refers to the type of foot that is used, known as the iamb, which in English is an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable . The word "pentameter" indicates that a line has five of these "feet". </P> <P> Iambic pentameter is the most common meter in English poetry; it is used in many of the major English poetic forms, including blank verse, the heroic couplet, and some of the traditional rhymed stanza forms . Iambic pentameter is used in both early forms of English poetry as well as later forms of 20th century poetry . William Shakespeare used iambic pentameter in his plays and sonnets, and it is also found in the poetry of the 20th century poets such as Wallace Stevens . </P> <P> As lines in iambic pentameter usually contain ten syllables, it is considered a form of decasyllabic verse . </P> <P> An iambic foot is an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable . The rhythm can be written as: </P>

There are four beats in a line of iambic pentameter