Explore the Craft of Writing Poetry French Verse
The Iambe, although the name might suggest it, poetry framed in iambs form is not written in iambic meter at all. It is an 18th century French verse that is named for the satirical iambic poetry of the Greek poet Archilochus (7th or 8th century B.C.) The French form is said to be well suited to bitter satire because of the dramatic contrasts of rhythm from line to line. The verse shifts from Alexandine lines to octasyllabic lines and back again. According to the NPEOPP, the shorter lines give a sense of urgency or exasperation in its interu