Almost all of Macbeth is written in blank verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter).
Iambic Pentmeter—1) has 10 syllables per line, and 2) has 5 pairs of alternating unstressed and stressed syllables.
Ex. Is this / a dag / ger I / see be/ fore me?
Ex. If mu / sic be /the food / of love, / play on
Ex. Good sir, / why do / you start / and seem / to fear …
· Sometimes, Shakespeare added an extra unstressed beat/syllable at the end of a line to emphasize a character’s sense of contemplation. This unstressed syllable is called a FEMININE ENDING. (It’s just a variation of iambic pentameter.)
Ex. To be, / or not / to be: / that is / the ques/ tion.
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