How to Teach Iambic Pentameter

A unit of the internal beat in a poem is called a "foot." A foot that is made up of a long beat followed by a short one is called an "Iamb." When there are five of these in a poetic line it is called "pentameter," from the Greek "penta" for five. Most English poems have this structure, because it most nearly resembles normal speech, and it is called iambic pentameter. Analyzing a poem like this is called scanning and a foot is represented by a "~" for a long beat and a "/" for a short beat. A line of iambic pentameter with five feet is written ~ / ~ / ~ / ~ / ~ / above the words or beat they represent in the poem.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Poem
• Hands for clapping
• Blackboard/whiteboard
• Overhead projector

1. Read a poem in iambic pentameter to the class and emphasize the internal beat. Read it again and clap along as you read by a loud hard clap for the long beat and a short light clap for the short beat. Choose a poem that is not too long.

2. Read the poem again and have the students clap the beat with you as you read. This will enable students to appreciate the rhythm inherent in the words and also they will see concretely what iambic pentameter is. Students generally enjoy this activity.

3. Hand out the same poem to each of the students and have them scan it. Tell them they may experiment with clapping out the beat as they represent the feet on their poems. In this activity students will benefit from learning from each other, which has proven to be the best instruction method.

4. Evaluate the success of this lesson by giving each student a different poem and have him or her repeat the process in class or for homework. Students should be prepared to come back to class and share their poem with the class.

Tips & Warnings

• Put the students in groups of four and have the group scan a poem together. Then, have the groups share their music with the class.
• Ask students to bring in a poem that they find outside of class. Have the class scan the poem together.
• Send the students on a virtual field trip that explains the history and origin of iambic pentameter.
• Use other methods other than clapping. Try stomping of feet or banging on the desk. Use your imagination.
• Don't make groups too large when students are working together. More than four students clapping together can turn into a nightmare.

Resources

• Good Lesson Plan for Iambic Pentameter

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