Iambic pentameter is the most common metrical line used in English poetry. This one was used by Shakespeare in his plays or sonnets. It consists of ten syllables in each line and five pairs of unstressed and stressed syllables. The stressed/unstressed foot is called iamb while the word pentameter means 5 meters. Shakespeare wrote his plays using iambic pentameter because it became the style or trend of those days. It was quite impressive during those times. Another reason is that when using iambic pentameter, their speech represents the high culture position in the society.
