Which term refers to the metrical pattern of alternating stressed and unstressed syllables totaling 10 syllables per line?

• A. Limerick
• B. iambic pentameter
• C. Petrarchan
• D. Haiku

Answer: (B)

Meter is the rhythm pattern of a line. An iamb is a pair of syllables in which the first is unstressed and the second is stressed. When a line has five of those iambs, it totals ten syllables and is called iambic pentameter. This steady da-DUM rhythm gives a natural, flowing cadence that English poets like Shakespeare rely on. The other terms describe different ideas: a limerick is a five-line verse with a playful rhythm and a specific rhyme scheme, not defined by ten syllables per line; a Petrarchan refers to a sonnet form with an octave and a sestet; a haiku is a three-line poem with a 5-7-5 syllable pattern, not ten syllables in each line.