151k views
3 votes
When someone says that a sonnet has "fourteen lines of iambic pentameter," what does that mean?

There are fourteen words that rhyme with each other in a regular rhyme scheme.
There are fourteen lines with five sets of stressed and unstressed syllables.
There are fourteen lines with five sets of unstressed and stressed syllables.

2 Answers

1 vote
the answer is B There are fourteen lines with five sets of stressed and unstressed syllables
User Pwnstar
by
7.1k points
2 votes

The right answer is "There are fourteen lines with five sets of stressed and unstressed syllables. "

Explanation: Iambic pentameter is a type of metric that is used in poetry and drama. It describes a certain rhythm that words establish in each verse. This rhythm is measured in small groups of syllables; these small groups are called "foot." The word iambic describes the type of foot that is used. The word pentameter indicates that a verse has five feet. In English, rhythm is created through the use of tonicity, alternating between tonic and non-tonic syllables. An anglophone non-tonic syllable is equivalent to a classic short syllable, whereas an anglophone tonic syllable is equivalent to a classic long syllable.

Iambic pentameter is, therefore, a verse composed of five pairs of short / long syllables, or atonic / tonic syllables. If the short / long or atonic / tonic pattern were to be reversed, producing a five-pair long / short verse, or unstressed tonic / atonic, this verse would be described as an example of exchangeable pentameter

User Zhang Zhan
by
8.0k points
Welcome to QAmmunity.org, where you can ask questions and receive answers from other members of our community.