Here's a breakdown:
* Unstressed Syllable: A syllable spoken with a lower pitch and less emphasis.
* Stressed Syllable: A syllable spoken with a higher pitch and greater emphasis.
Example:
The word "above" has an iambic pattern. The first syllable, "a", is unstressed, while the second syllable, "bove", is stressed.
In poetry:
Iambs are a fundamental building block of many poetic meters, particularly iambic pentameter, which is a common meter in Shakespearean sonnets and other traditional English poetry. Iambic pentameter consists of five iambs per line, creating a rhythm that's often described as natural and conversational.
Here's an example of iambic pentameter:
"But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?" (from Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare)
Each pair of words in this line demonstrates the unstressed/stressed pattern of an iamb.