Key Terms

Here are some of the key terms that get used when talking about Shakespeare’s language, so you can look out for them in Measure for Measure.
  • Iambic Pentameter

    Play Iambic Pentameter Video

    Iambic pentameter is the name given to the rhythm that Shakespeare uses in his plays. The rhythm of iambic pentameter is like a heartbeat, with one soft beat and one strong beat repeated five times.

    Where will I find it in Measure for Measure?

    Iambic pentameter is used in 65% of the play. If you count the syllables in this line where Isabella turns on Claudio in his prison cell and read it out, you can see how it works: ‘O faithless coward! O dishonest wretch!’
  • Prose and Verse

    Play Prose and Verse video

    Shakespeare writes in a combination of prose and verse. Prose is a conversational way of speaking which doesn’t have a set rhythm or structure. Verse always has a set rhythm and structure.

    Where will I find it in Measure for Measure?

    65% of Measure for Measure is written in verse and 35% in prose, so it’s interesting to look for where and why it changes. You can tell which is which by looking at the page in the play text. Where it looks like a poem, Shakespeare is using verse and when it looks like writing in a book that goes the whole way across the page, prose is being used.
  • Rhyming Couplets

    Play Rhyming Couplets video

    Rhyming couplets are two lines written in iambic pentameter that end in the same sound, or a rhyme. They are often used to sum up the end of a character’s speech.

    Where will I find it in Measure for Measure?

    Characters often use rhyming couplets to finish thoughts and speeches in Shakespeare. In Measure for Measure, they can often be found at the end of a soliloquy. The duke uses one in his speech condemning Angelo to death, which also features the title of the play: ‘Haste still pays haste, and leisure answers leisure, / Like doth quit like, and measure still for measure.’
  • Antithesis

    Play antithesis video

    Antithesis happens when two opposites are put together. For example, hot and cold or light and dark.

    Where will I find it in Measure for Measure?

    Dramatic opposites such as life/death, light/dark and cold/warm are used a lot in the play. In Act 3 Scene 1, Claudio says: ‘To sue to live, I find I seek to die’ and compares the ‘cold obstruction’ of death to the ‘warm motion’ of life. Describing the duke in Act 3 Scene 2, Lucio says he would ‘have dark deeds darkly answered; he would never bring them to light.’

Test Yourself on language terms

Shakespeare writes in a combination of prose and verse. Verse is like poetry and it has a set structure and rhythm. The rhythm Shakespeare uses in his plays is called iambic pentameter, which is like a heartbeat, with one soft beat and one strong beat repeated five times. Sometimes it’s also interesting to look at lines that don’t match the rhythm of iambic pentameter and to think about why.
In Shakespeare’s plays, you will find examples of antithesis, which is when two opposites are put together, like hot and cold or light and dark. Characters also often end speeches with rhyming couplets, which are two lines written in iambic pentameter that end in the same sound, or a rhyme.

Prose

The style of writing you might find in a book.

Take another look at the prose & verse definitions

Structure

Another word for organise or lay out.

Take another look at Nia’s definition of verse

Iambic

This words comes from the Latin word iam meaning beat.

Take another look at the iambic pentameter definitions

heartbeat

The rhythm you feel in your chest, like a pulse.

Take another look at Nia’s definition of iambic pentameter

five

The Latin word for this number is ‘pent’.

Take another look at the definition of iambic pentameter

opposites

Another word for completely different things.

Take another look at Nia’s definition of antithesis

Dark

The total opposite of light.

Take another look at the definition of antithesis

Couplets

Another word for when two lines are coupled together.

Take another look at the definition of rhyming couplets

Iambic Pentameter

The name for the rhythm Shakespeare writes in.

Take another look at your third answer and take another look at the definitions.

Sound

Another word for something you hear.

Take another look at Nia’s definition of rhyming couplets

Teacher Notes

You can use the activities in the videos on this page with students, to explore the language in the play as you work through it.