Question

Read the passage:

From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Do with their death bury their parents' strife.

Which best identifies the meter used in this passage of poetry?



iambic monometer

iambic dimeter

iambic trimeter

iambic pentameter

Answer 1

Iambic pentameter

Step-by-step explanation:

An iambic meter refers to lines of poetry containing iambs. An iamb is a metrical foot (a group of syllables) that has one UNSTRESSED syllable followed by a stressed syllable. Depending on the number of iambs that there are per line, they can be classified into dimeter (two iambs per line), trimester (three), tetrameter (four), pentameter (five) or hexameter (6).

In the passage, the meter that is most used is iambic pentameter and iambic tetrameter. To prove this, down below you'll find the passage with the stressed syllables underlined and in bold font, the ones that are in normal font, are the unstressed syllables:

From forth the fatal loins of these two foes = 5

A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life; = 5

Whose misadventured piteous overthrows = 4

Do with their death bury their parents' strife. = 4

Answer 2

Iambic pentameter is what Shakespeare uses in most or all his plays