Shakespeare and Iambic pentameter?

Question

My question is, 'Is Iambic pentameter just an illusion?' When I learned Shakespeare in school, my teacher emphasized on the thing called 'iambic pentameter'. That goes like 'du Dum du Dum......' But when I looked up at the famous 'tomorrow speech' from Macbeth, I really didn't think this isn't on Iambic pentameter. Only Iambic pentameter I can name was the line 'That strets and frets his hour upon the stage.' So I posted a question in the other site and the answer I was given was that there is no strict iambic pentameter. No-one writes poems in strict iambic pentameter and that shakespeare isn't much of it. They said it is even debatable whether Shakespeare 'knew' what is iambic pentameter or he just followed what other people in his period wrote. I was... deeply confused? And they say the poem I gave as an example of Iambic trimeter isn't much of Iambic either. It goes like this. 'Although the sun and moon were gone And the universe ceased to be And thou art left alone Every existence would exist in thee.' Is my perception of Iambic completely wrong? I've always thought that poems are to be written in iambic. I don't know why my teacher so much gave an emphasis on it.

Answer 1

OK, here’s the deal:

No, iambic pentameter is not an illusion.

Did Shakespeare know that he was using it? Probably not, but he wasn’t necessarily just copying what others did, either (most other poetic drama of the day was in iambic tetrameter).

The vast majority of the verse in Shakespeare is based on iambic pentameter (exceptions include “supernatural characters” [fairies and witches] and purposefully “bad” poetry [Orlando’s poetry in As You Like It]). But rarely is an entire speech in perfect iambic pentameter (that would be sing-songy and boring as heck). Most speeches have some variations; the Macbeth speech you reference is filled with variations.

So why do we focus on iambic pentameter?

Well, there’s the rub… and a rare intersection between acting and literary criticism. Often you will find variance from the iambic pentameter gives the actor a clue as to what idea to push in the speech. Think of it this way: iambic pentameter is the rhythm of the human heart, and the variations are like palpitations, ones that clue us in to what ideas are causing our hearts--and minds--to flutter. Also, you’ll find at times feminine endings to lines (an unstressed syllable after that last stressed syllable in the line)... think of Shakespeare’s most famous speech:

To be or not to be; that is the question

Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune

There are too many syllables in each line, just as there are too many thoughts running through Hamlet’s head at the time. AND you've got some trochees (two-syllable chunks that are stressed/unstressed) in there as well.

Think of that Macbeth speech you referenced. Why is it so UN-iambic? He just found out his wife is dead, reason enough for his heart/mind-beat to be a little disturbed.

So, in the end, how important is it? Well, if you’re looking at the plays just as plays, narratives presented on stage, not very important. But if you’re acting, or studying how Shakespeare creates tone, mood, and character, then it can be as important as you want it to be.

Hope this helps!