What is Iambic Pentameter in Shakespeare's work?

Iambic Pentameter is a meter which Shakespeare frequently uses in his poetry and plays.Let's break the term down:An 'Iamb' is an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable ('daDUM.')'Penta' means 'five' (as in 'pentagon.')'Meter' refers to the pattern of syllables in a line.Therefore, 'Iambic pentameter' refers to a line that has five feet of iambs (ten syllables per line.)da DUM / da DUM / da DUM /da DUM / da DUMFor example:but SOFT / what LIGHT / though YON / der WIN / dow BREAKS ('Romeo and Juliet')and WASH / this FIL / thy WIT / ness FROM / your HANDS ('Macbeth')if MUS / ic BE / the FOOD / of LOVE / play ON ('Twelfth Night')Both Shakespeare's sonnets and plays are written in iambic pentameter; the former follow an ABABCDCDEFEFGG rhyme scheme, while the latter is generally unrhymed, which is known as 'Blank Verse.'