What is iambic pentameter? How to look for meters in a poem?

Question

i have many poems to read and most of the time there are questions on what's the meter of the poem? how do i know.i know that iamb is unstressed and stressed syllabels.but i don't know how to recognize. do u count every word in every line as a feet? even the word "are" is that counted?

Answer 1

The quality of mercy is not strained (Shakespeare)

TEN syllables, and 5 are stressed = iambic pentameter.
( See the Pentagon has 5 sides. A pentameter has 5 stressed syllables. / Pent/ is Latin or Greek for 5.)

All of Shakespeare's sonnets are in iambic pentameters and much of the plays use that form too.

Now count all of the syllables, YES. and mark the stressed ones. There is your meter. If there are only 4 stressed syllables, then it is NOT an iambic pentameter.