Literature Glossary

Don’t be an oxymoron. Know your literary terms.

Over 200 literary terms, Shmooped to perfection.

Iamb

Definition:

An iamb is a type of poetic foot made up of an unstressed and stressed syllable (daDUM). This is a very, very common foot in poetry. Iambs are, after all, the stars of iambic pentameter. And iambic pentameter is important. Really, really important.