Iambic Pentameter Practice Quiz

False -- ONE must | HAVE a | MIND of | WINter

This line has four feet, and uses a DUM-da stress pattern instead of the iambic da-DUM.

False -- who AL | ways HAS | adVICE | in these | MATters

This line has five feet (ten syllables), but does not use the iambic stress pattern.

False -- GO and | CATCH a | FALLing | STAR

This line has only seven syllables, not ten, and does not use the iambic stress pattern.

True -- i ON | ly KNOW | that SUM | mer SANG | in ME

This has ten syllables (five feet) in the iambic da-DUM stress pattern.

Yes -- but IF | they AN | swered HIM | we HAVE | n't HEARD

Five feet (ten syllables), following the iambic stress pattern.

Yes -- i HAVE | outWALKED | the FURTH | est CI | ty LIGHT

Ten syllables (five feet) in the iambic da-DUM stress pattern.

False -- i KNOW | that I | shall MEET | my FATE

This is a tricky one. It's in the iambic stress pattern -- da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM. But there are only eight syllables -- four feet -- instead of five. So it's called iambic tetrameter (four feet), not pentameter.

No -- OV-er the CI-ty the MOON rides in MIST

This has ten syllables, but it's in a different stress pattern: DUM da da DUM da da DUM da da DUM.

Iambic pentameter is a metric line used in traditional English poetry and drama, characterized by having ten syllables in each line, where the syllables typically alternate between unstressed and stressed. The pattern generally appears as da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM.
The line provided, "and time has thrown us free under the timeless moon," can be scanned for stress patterns to determine if it follows this rhythm:
and time (and is usually unstressed, time is stressed) - da-DUM
has thrown (has is unstressed, thrown is stressed) - da-DUM
us free (us is unstressed, free is stressed) - da-DUM
under the (under is stressed, the is unstressed but might be variably stressed) - DUM-da
timeless moon (timeless is stressed, moon is stressed, breaking the pattern) - DUM-DUM