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Iambic pentameter
Is
But old Friar Laurence for shadows doom,
and the lovers’ future is full of gloom.
in iambic pentameter?
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Iambic pentameter is two pairs of five stressed and unstressed syllables. I've got capitals to show the stressed syllables.
he JESTS at SCARS, that NEver FELT a WOUND
but, SOFT! what LIGHT through YONder WINdow BREAKS?
it IS the EAST, and JUliet IS the SUN.
as the great man said...
but OLD friAR lauRENCE foreSHAdows DOOM
and THE loVERS fuTURE is FULL of DOOM
You've got ten syllables, but the stress/unstress pairing isn't quite natural. 'foreSHAdows DOOM' and 'is FULL of DOOM' are fine. But the name Laurence is normally stressed LAUrence (STRESS-UNSTRESS) and Lovers as LOVers (STRESS-UNSTRESS). Likewise FUture not fuTURE. And FRIar not friAR. So you're on the right lines, but the stress (emphasis if you prefer) is falling on the wrong syllables at times. If you want Laurence, the syllable that comes before him must be an unstressed one...or he becomes lauRENCE. Like loRRAINE. If you see what I mean. Nice cultured & intelligent question though!! I reckon you're either fixing to be a poet...or studying English Lit.?? Noting that changing the emphasis totally ruins these beautiful lines. And it's jool-yet (2 syl.), not joo-lee-et (3 syl.) when it's performed properly!
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An iambic foot is made up of two syllables.
An unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. (Da DUM)
Iambic pentameter is five of these iambic foots. That means Iambic pentameter should have ten syllables. (Da DUM Da DUM Da DUM da DUM da DUM)
So all you really need to do is count the syllables.
(If you don't know what a syllable is, google it, they are really simple to count).
So this is the first line, counted out:
But(1 - Da) old(2 - DUM) Fri(3 - Da)ar(4 -D DUM) Laur(5 - Da)ence(6 - DUM) for(7 - da) sha(8 - DUM)dows(9 - Da) doom(10 - DUM),
That line has ten syllables. If you check the second line and finds it follows the same pattern, than both lines are in iambic pentameter.
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