Without doing a search - do you know what the Iambic Pentameter is?

[Itcouldhavebeenbeetroot]

And if so when were you taught it?

Cali - is your brother working as an actor now?

It's de duh de duh de duh de duh isn't it? Without looking at all the other answers.

We learnt it when we did Shakespeare so I would have been around 13/14.

de dum de dum de dum de dum de dum

The qual-i-ty of mer-cy is not strained

You can sing it to Dvoraks Humoresque (sp???)

yes, I learned it when I studed O level Billy Shakespeare, so when I was 14 I suppose

yes - at school (but am very old and they used to teach things like that then)

Sue, snap!

My engl;ish teacher told me I'd use the info one day. I never thought it would be on MN!

no, and I took A level English! I blame the teachers

I am going to set myself up as a consultant for schools - going round teaching them about Shakespeare and making it fun!

telling them about the dedumdeduming down!!!

So will need some experienced dedummers!!!

Well you definitely need to speak to Bristol Uni about the Iambic Danicing then LOL! (Apaprenlty watching the Porfessor doing it was tres painful )

I bet they didn't forget it though!!! Peachy

I told dd about it for her Y6 project (she chose Shakespeare) - she then went on to look at sonnets and of course sad old mum went on about Shakespearean and Petrachan sonnets and rhyme. It's amazing what you remember from school - sixth form I think.

spencer's sonnets. Read them then die !

Donnie I am a bit scared to now!

in answer to the original question - no. I know it is something to do with the rhythm of words, used by Shakespear - but nothing more than that. We didn't do it at school (1980's grammar school).

Yes, like Edam, English classes at secondary school reading Shakespeare, at about 13/14. This would have been mid 70s.

yes - from when we started on the 'Dream' when I was 11.

Found it interesting and fascinating and I felt quite grown-up learning things with serious latin names.

IMO it only makes people feel 'uneducated' if you sneer at themn for not knowing it.

There are many things I didn't know that Iearn from MN every day - that's part of it's appeal.

I teach poetry to adults in the UK and the US. My British students always ALWAYS know what iambic pentameter is, regardless of the basic-ness of their education. My US students often need to be taught, or at least reminded, even though American poetry comes out of English poetry and therefore requires an knowledge of iambic pentameter as much as English poetry does.

I put it down to the fact that the UK education system is just slightly more rigorous, or at least was til recently. (I sometimes doubt that the yobby teens in my neighborhood are getting that great an education.) But that's my theory.

Blu who is sneering at others?

no one is sneering - it was in relation to the poster who talked of making people feel uneducated.

oh right - I think we sorted that out - she was having a bad day!!!

oh, sorry!
Wasn't conecentrating here at the back.

If music be the food of love, play on,

yes I do

and I assume in early high school but don't remember exactly