If | Style

Iambic Pentameter and Rhyme

“If” is written in iambic pentameter, a form readers of Shakespeare will be familiar with, as the bard most often wrote in this style. Iambic pentameter consists of lines of five “feet” (two-syllable units) formed from an initial unstressed syllable and a second stressed syllable, as in the word “because.” The eleven-syllable lines each end with an extra, unstressed syllable.

The poem is also written in four stanzas of eight rhyming lines, according to the pattern abab cdcd. “If” takes its name from the repetition...

[The entire page is 507 words long]

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass

Summary and Analysis – Themes – Characters – And much more...