Question

D the following excerpt from Much Ado About Nothing: "Be HOLD/ how LIKE/ a MAID/ she BLUSH/ es HERE" This is an example of

A. blank verse.
B. iambic pentameter.
C. prose.
D. a quatrain.

Answer 1

For PF Students: B. iambic pentameter.

Answer 2

"Be HOLD/ how LIKE/ a MAID/ she BLUSH/ es HERE"

This excerpt is an example of iambic pentameter.

An iambic pentameter is a form of a metrical line in which each line contains five unstressed syllables followed by five stressed syllables. They are usually arranged in an alternating pattern.

Shakespeare followed a new tradition of using blank verse in iambic pentameter. He used this form in his writings as it followed the same tone as that of a human’s heartbeat, a horse’ gallop or with the beat of any music. Iambic pentameter added natural speech and the rhythm of life in his verses.