Pentameter lines have how many feet?

Pentameter lines have how many feet?

• A. 5 feet
• B. 6 feet
• C. 7 feet
• D. 8 feet

Answer: (A)

In poetry, meter is counted in feet, with a foot being a basic unit of rhythm—usually a pattern of unstressed and stressed syllables. Pentameter means there are five of these units in each line. In the common form, iambic pentameter, each foot is an iamb (unstressed followed by stressed), so a line has five iambs, totaling ten syllables. So pentameter lines have five feet. The other options describe six, seven, or eight feet—hexameter, heptameter, and octameter—which are not pentameter.

In poetry, meter is counted in feet, with a foot being a basic unit of rhythm—usually a pattern of unstressed and stressed syllables. Pentameter means there are five of these units in each line. In the common form, iambic pentameter, each foot is an iamb (unstressed followed by stressed), so a line has five iambs, totaling ten syllables. So pentameter lines have five feet. The other options describe six, seven, or eight feet—hexameter, heptameter, and octameter—which are not pentameter.