The meter of choice for Shakespeare and countless other English-language poets is iambic pentameter. In short, it is a line of poetry consisting of five iambs.
The opening line of Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 130” provides a perfect example: “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun.” When we scan the poem, we see a series of unstressed and stressed syllables:
| – | / | – | / | – | / | – | / | – | / |
| My | mis- | tress’ | eyes | are | no- | thing | like | the | sun |
Another excellent is the opening line of Shakespeare’s eighteenth sonnet:
| – | / | – | / | – | / | – | / | – | / |
| Shall | I | com- | pare | thee | to | a | su- | mmer’s | day |
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