Does the term “iambic pentameter” scare you? For many, the term, while familiar, is confusing. Yet the relationship of stressed and unstressed syllables the term refers to is natural in English speech. For example, if I say, “Let’s get a cup of coffee after class,” I have spoken in iambic pentameter. Indeed, iambic pentameter comprises approximately 95% of all metered poetry in English. Why? This workshop is designed to help you understand, recognize, and produce iambic pentameter lines. It’s designed to cure “iambic pentameter phobia,” thereby allowing you to write in traditional forms such as sonnets, blank verse, etc.

with Joshua McKinney