An iamb is a metrical foot used in various types of poetry). It is a two-syllable metrical pattern in which one unstressed syllable is followed by a stressed syllable. The word "define" is an example of an iamb. In accentual-syllabic verse and in modern linguistics, an iamb is a foot that has the rhythmic pattern: |da |DUM). Using the ictus and x notation, an iamb can be written as x/ . In English, iambic meter is the most common meter in poetry, including all the plays and poems of William Shakespeare. Iambic pentameter is one of the most commonly used measures in English and German poetry). It is a line of verse that comprises five consecutive iambs). The even pacing of iambic meter has a way of allowing for and elevating conversational writing, lending the words more heft and intensity.