Which form of poetry is written in iambic pentameter?

• A. Sonnet
• B. Haiku
• C. Limerick
• D. Autobiography

Answer: (A)

Iambic pentameter means five iambs (an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one) in each line. This rhythm has long been the hallmark of English sonnets, which are typically 14 lines long and often follow a fixed rhyme scheme. Because of that strong association, the form most closely tied to iambic pentameter is the sonnet. Haiku operates on a 5-7-5 syllable pattern across three lines, not a five-stress-per-line rhythm. A limerick relies on a lively, mostly anapestic meter, not iambic pentameter. Autobiography is prose, not poetry, so it isn’t written in a metrical pattern.