Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Main / GratuitousIambicPentameter

Go To

1[[quoteright:300:[[Webcomic/{{XKCD}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/XKCD_iambic_5meter_2390.jpg]]]]
2[[caption-width-right:300:[[AltText Of course, you don't wanna limit yourself to the strict forms of the meter. That could get pretty difficult.]]]]
3->''You've made a wise choice.\
4It will mean more Eggs for you,\
5And more Gems for me!\
6Best of all, Spyro...\
7I can stop speaking haiku.\
8What a sweet relief!''
9-->-- '''Moneybags''', ''VideoGame/SpyroYearOfTheDragon''
10
11Among creators, there's a certain kind\
12Who always have [[MediaNotes/PoetryForms poetic forms]] in mind.\
13In ev'ry situation -- great or small—\
14[[RhymesOnADime They can't resist the urge to rhyme at all,]]\
15And even if they don't use rhymes, you hear\
16Poetic rhythms jangle on the ear.\
17Though often plainer words would suit much better,\
18[[SelfDemonstratingArticle Gratuitous Iambic]] [[AcCENTUponTheWrongSylLABle Penta-MET-er]].
19
20[[labelnote:Poetic Meter 101]]An iamb is a poetic beat containing an unstressed syllable and then a stressed one: ''ba-DUM'' (if it goes ''DUM-ba'' it's called a trochee). Pentameter, as the "penta" prefix implies, is verse with five beats (tetrameter has four, heptameter has seven, etc.), so iambic pentameter has five iambs per line. This can work out to either ten or eleven syllables—an odd unstressed one at the end, called a "feminine ending," doesn't affect the meter much. In addition, poets often jazz up the rhythm by substituting a trochee, or even a three-syllable beat, for one or more of the iambs.
21
22This kind of verse is very common in Creator/WilliamShakespeare, as in for example "Un-EA-sy LIES the HEAD that WEARS a CROWN" (''Theatre/HenryIVPart2''). This trope can apply to any dialogue written in a rhythmic verse form, though.[[/labelnote]]
23
24----
25!!You'll find this trope within the works below:
26
27[[foldercontrol]]
28
29[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
30* The Fatima Fates sometimes lapse into iambic pentameter when delivering a prophecy in ''Manga/TheFiveStarStories'', though this may only be in the [[{{Woolseyism}} English version]]. What's strange is that Clotho's prophecy in Volume II has the rhyming couplet at the beginning rather than the end. This is probably a deliberate artistic choice to highly the nonlinear nature of time in the FSS universe.
31[[/folder]]
32
33[[folder:Comic Books]]
34* Taking this in a new and strange direction, the demon ComicBook/{{Etrigan}} in Franchise/TheDCU speaks in ''rhyme''. This is taken by one of the Endless as a sign he has been promoted in the demonic ranks. And when Creator/AlanMoore writes him, he actually ''does'' speak iambic pentameter. One incarnation of him accidentally forgot to rhyme in haste, meaning that it's a conscious effort on his part rather than automatically how speech comes to him.
35** Played with in the miniseries ''ComicBook/ArkhamAsylumLivingHell'', when it turns out that not only do many demons speak in rhyme, anything not in rhyme is incomprehensible to them. Thus, the human/demon interpreter job is left to Humpty Dumpty, who speaks fluent Poetic.
36** In ''ComicBook/{{Shadowpact}}'', it is revealed that rhyming demons are considered as part of the underworld's upper class and one has to earn the privilege to become one. However, it must be a lower rank than being (a) Lord of Hell, as Neron was furious to be promoted to rhyming demon. Yes, a lowering of rank is called being promoted. They're demons. [[BadIsGoodAndGoodIsBad The lower they are, the more powerful and evil they are]]. Yes, it's stupid. But they discuss it at length when ComicBook/BlueDevil gets his demotion and starts rhyming.
37** In an issue of ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'', there's a demon practicing rhyming speech, hoping for an eventual promotion.
38** The [[ComicBook/JusticeLeagueInternational Super-Buddies]] are sent to Hell when Booster Gold [[TooDumbToLive toys with Dr. Fate's stuff]]. Blue Beetle catches Etrigan saying something that doesn't rhyme. His only reply is "So sue me".
39** Creator/GarthEnnis's ''ComicBook/Hitman1993'' also plays with this, with a lower ranking demon named Baytor who, due to his inability to rise in Hell's ranks, [[PokemonSpeak can only say, "I am Baytor!"]]
40* An issue of ''ComicBook/ExcaliburMarvelComics'' told from the point of view of Lockheed features him flying around spouting bad rhyme. Which is interesting, as it's been suggested on more than one occasion that, being an alien life-form, his vocal apparatus just can't cope with English.
41* In another example of Creator/NeilGaiman using this trope, the conversations between Dream and the young Shakespeare in ''ComicBook/TheSandman1989'' are actually in iambic pentameter. The character Nuala also briefly drops into iambic pentameter at one point. Dream himself, when explaining himself to queen Titania of Faerie, also goes into blank verse mode. Understandable, as this is the issue where ''Theatre/AMidsummerNightsDream'' is performed.
42** Gaiman makes a hobby of writing poems in unusual verse formats that have fallen out of fashion, sometimes for centuries. The prevalence of them appearing in his comic work is pure AuthorAppeal.
43** In an early issue of ''The Sandman'', [[{{Satan}} Lucifer]] claims that various poetic styles have been fashionable amongst demons at different times, and currently it happens to be rhyming.
44* Another Creator/AlanMoore example -- the title AntiHero of ''ComicBook/VForVendetta'' occasionally speaks in iambic pentameter, as part of his theatrical masquerade and his celebration of literature long suppressed. Particularly apt since "V" is "5" in Roman numerals.
45* [[RuleOfThree Another]] Creator/AlanMoore example: Witch Wench, a 17th-century superheroine (and member of the time-travelling League of Infinity) introduced during Moore's run on ''ComicBook/{{Supreme}}''.
46* Creator/AlanMoore [[AuthorAppeal really loves]] his iambic pentameter; in ''Comicbook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'' book ''The Black Dossier'', the final passage features Prospero explaining at length (and in iambic pentameter) the importance of fiction. Makes sense, since he ''is'' a character from Shakespeare.
47** It comes back in Century: 1969, in the form of a punk rocker in a seedy nightclub singing in perfect iambic pentameter.
48* A [[AllThereInTheManual supplemental comic]] for the most recent [[ComicBook/TheTransformersMegaseries comic incarnation]] of the Franchise/{{Transformers}} explains [[TheScrappy Wheelie's]] habitual rhyming as due to being stuck on an uninhabited planet alongside an alien with a translation device that only works reliably in rhyme. After several centuries of that, Wheelie's still rhyming by force of habit. Unless something scares him badly enough, that is.
49* In the ''ComicBook/{{Fables}}'' spinoff ''Jack of Fables'', Lady Luck speaks in Iambic Pentameter.
50* In ''ComicBook/{{Empowered}}'', the Caged Demonwolf combines this with SesquipedalianLoquaciousness and PurpleProse (also, thesaurus abuse) for some truly remarkable dialogue.
51* One professor in a story by Creator/WilhelmBusch talks like this.
52* From [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHercules Herc's book]] [[CharacterizationMarchesOn onwards]] / [[ComicBook/ChaosWar Amatsu-Mikaboshi, the Chaos King,]] speaks in {{Haiku}} / [[RuleOfCool for added coolness]].
53-->"When Chaos triumphs, / [[CessationOfExistence even Haiku will vanish]]. / [[WickedCultured Only then I weep]]."
54* In ComicBook/DeCapeEtDeCrocs, Maupertuis and the Master-at-Arms especially like to practice the art of "Rixme" (a portmanteau between the french words "rixe" and "rime", respectively "fight" and "rhyme"), which is fencing while [[YouFightLikeACow taunting the opponent]] in [[SophisticatedAsHell Alexandrines]]. Justified, since they are [[WarriorPoet fencers, poets and gentlemen]], and in the Master-at-arms case, [[spoiler: Cyrano de Bergerac]].
55* In the ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'' comic, ''Recap/AsterixAndCleopatra'', an Egyptian named Edifis makes a journey to Gaul to seek the help of Getafix the Druid. Edifis speaks in what sounds like a stilted verse-form. The druid explains to a bemused Asterix and Obelix what it is, and makes a pun: "C'est un alexandrin", ie "He's from Alexandria". [[note]]An "alexandrin" is a verse-form in classical French literature and occupies the same place in French Lit as the iambic pentameter does in English.[[/note]] English translations render Edifis's speech into iambic pentameter to carry over something of the pun.
56[[/folder]]
57
58[[folder:Fan Works]]
59* At one point in ''FanFic/TheApprenticeTheStudentAndTheCharlatan'', Nova trolls Twilight with it, even to the point where she accidentally lapses into it herself.
60* In the My Little Pony fanfic ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/175407/the-sisters-and-the-dragon The Sisters and the Dragon]]'', Tiamat--the oldest and most powerful dragon--speaks this way.
61[[/folder]]
62
63[[folder:Film - Animated]]
64* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Hoodwinked}}'', Red comes across Japeth, a singing senile country western mountain goat:
65-->'''Red Puckett:''' I'm looking for Granny Puckett's house?\
66'''Japeth the Goat:''' ''[singing]'' Graaaaaaaanneeee Puckeeeett...\
67'''Red Puckett:''' Could you stop singing for one moment?\
68'''Japeth the Goat:''' ''[singing]'' No I can't, wish I could, but [[CursedWithAwesome a mountain witch done put a spell on me]], 37 years agoooooooo, and now I gotta sing every thing I saaaaaaaaayyyyyy...\
69'''Red Puckett:''' Everything?\
70'''Japeth the Goat:''' ''[speaking]'' That's right.\
71'''Red Puckett:''' You just talked! Just now!\
72'''Japeth the Goat:''' Oh, did I? ''[singing]'' Did I? Dididididodadidididoooo...\
73''[Red gives a pissed off AsideGlance to the audience]''
74* A ''really'' gratuitous example from the trailer for ''WesternAnimation/Madagascar3EuropesMostWanted'': "You FOOL! How COULD you LET them GET aWAY!?"
75[[/folder]]
76
77[[folder:Film - Live Action]]
78* A not-quite-famous example in cinema would be Rudy Ray Moore's alter-ego Film/{{Dolemite}}.
79* The entirety of SallyPotter's ''Film/{{Yes}}'' is spoken in rhyming iambic pentameter.
80* The musical ''Les Demoiselles de Rochefort'' (''TheYoungGirlsOfRochefort'') has a scene in which everyone speaks in alexandrines (the classical French line and equivalent of the iambic pentameter.)
81* Creator/JamesGunn told Creator/LloydKaufman he wrote ''Film/TromeoAndJuliet'' completely in iambic pentameter. He didn't, but there is a lot of it.
82* The medieval parts of Creator/RogerCorman's ''Film/TheUndead'' have much of the dialog in varying types of blank verse.
83* The Boob's dialogue in ''WesternAnimation/YellowSubmarine'' is almost exclusively in rhyming couplets. He can even make rhymes from whatever the Beatles say to him, even if it doesn't follow form or iambic pentameter precisely.
84-->'''Paul:''' Hey fellas, look!\
85'''Boob:''' (''writing on a note pad with a pen between his toes'') The footnotes for my nineteenth book. This is my standard procedure for doing it. And while I compose it, I'm also reviewing it.\
86'''George:''' A boob for all seasons.\
87'''Paul:''' How can he lose?\
88'''John:''' Were your notices good?\
89'''Boob:''' It's my policy never to read my reviews.
90[[/folder]]
91
92[[folder:Literature]]
93* In ''Literature/TheExploitsOfEbenezum'' by Creator/CraigShawGardner, we are almost immediately introduced to a BigBad rhyming demon named Guxx Unfufadoo. He ''can'' speak without rhyming, but as his power (defined very generically) grows with every rhyme, he almost never fails to rhyme. In the succeeding trilogy he joins the party in an EnemyMine scenario, with a MalfunctionMalady where sneezing fits prevent him from rhyming... so he only speaks in blank verse with a specific beat pattern (and hopes he doesn't reflexively end a verse in a rhyme and start sneezing).
94* Creator/LewisCarroll's "Hiawatha's Photographing" is a parody of Creator/HenryWadsworthLongfellow's narrative poem ''Literature/TheSongOfHiawatha''. It's preceded by an introduction which is written as normal text, but stealthily follows the same meter as both poems (trochaic tetrameter).
95-->In an age of imitation, I can claim no special merit for this slight attempt at doing what is known to be so easy. Any fairly practised writer, with the slightest ear for rhythm, could compose, for hours together, in the easy running metre of "The Song of Hiawatha." Having, then, distinctly stated that I challenge no attention in the following little poem to its merely verbal jingle, I must beg the candid reader to confine his criticism to its treatment of the subject.
96* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' features Tom Bombadil, an enigmatic figure who often breaks into verse and actually made the ring itself turn invisible.
97* In ''The Particolored Unicorn'' by John De Cles, all unicorns love to show off--some speak Sanskrit, some recite {{poetry}}--in order to be impressive pets. Lifesaver, the titular unicorn, speaks in iambic pentameter. As with the Etrigan example above, he drops it at one point in his excitement.
98* In ''Literature/TheFiresOfAffliction'', the leader of the MysteryCult speaks entirely in iambic pentameter up until TheReveal. Incidentally, the book was written by one of the editors of the English script for ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaOrderOfEcclesia'', which also features this trope.
99* In Poul Anderson's ''Literature/AMidsummerTempest'' the dialog is pretty much entirely in iambic pentameter, mostly unrhymed.
100* The [[SuccessThroughInsanity main character]] in ''Literature/TheWiseMansFear'' by Patrick Rothfuss ends up spending some time in [[MagicalLand Fae]], where most conversations seem to be carried out in rhyming couplets. It's implied that this is a somewhat whimsical form of amusement, rather than a natural speech pattern.
101* Literature/LordPeterWimsey keeps doing this unintentionally in ''Busman's Honeymoon''. The other characters lampshade it.
102* in ''Literature/RuledBritannia'' not only are Marlowe and Shakespeare's plays obviously in Iambic Pentameter, their conversations between each other often are as well.
103* In the ''Literature/StarTrekTheLostEra'' novel ''The Buried Age'', there's a scene where Picard and Ariel discuss Shakespeare, and he realises afterwards that she was casually speaking in iambic pentameter, including finishing with a rhyming couplet.
104* ''Literature/RuledBrittania'': much of the dialogue is written in iambic pentameter, as its cribbed from various plays of the era.
105* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': GRRM's writing style is heavily iambic, and iambic pentameter occurs frequently enough that it's unlikely to be coincidental. A few of the more quotable examples:
106-->'''Jaime Lannister''': There are no men like me. There's only me. \
107'''Jon Snow''': First lesson: Stick them with the pointy end. \
108'''Eddard Stark''': And if you cannot bear to do that, then \
109perhaps the man does not deserve to die. \
110'''Ygritte''': All men must die, Jon Snow. But first we'll live. \
111'''Jon Snow''': The more you give a king, the more he wants.\
112'''Narration''': ...and Eddard Stark dreamed of a frozen hell reserved for the Starks of Winterfell. \
113'''Jeor Mormont''': The things we love destroy us every time. \
114'''Aeron Greyjoy''': No godless man may sit the Seastone Chair.
115* The final chapter of Jerome K. Jerome’s ''Literature/ThreeMenInABoat'' suddenly lets loose with: ''But the river—chill and weary, with the ceaseless rain-drops falling on its brown and sluggish waters, with a sound as of a woman, weeping low in some dark chamber; while the woods, all dark and silent, shrouded in their mists of vapour, stand like ghosts upon the margin; silent ghosts with eyes reproachful, like the ghosts of evil actions, like the ghosts of friends neglected—is a spirit-haunted water through the land of vain regrets.'' It is not the book’s only Hiawatha parody, but it is the sneakiest.[[labelnote:note]]If you must split hairs, this is not iambic pentameter. It is trochaic tetrameter.[[/labelnote]]
116[[/folder]]
117
118[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
119* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': One of the reasons Captain James Kirk's dialogue sounds so stilted or fake is that Creator/WilliamShatner insisted on using varying iambic and trochaic rhythms, presumably due to his [[ShakespearianActors Shakespearean training]]. It was even parodied on ''Series/WhoseLineIsItAnyway'':
120-->'''Ryan Stiles:''' Spock, ''put'' the ''trib''bles ''down'' and ''help'' me ''with'' the ''ship!''
121** Less well-known is Avery Brooks' line readings from ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''. (Brooks was also familiar with The Bard from his theater days.) As the series wore on, Captain Sisko's language became looser and more impassioned, but in the beginning he spoke entirely in sleepy Shatnerese.
122* Maldis, a two-episode villain on ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' once took the form of a wizard who always spoke in iambic pentameter.
123* In the third season of ''Series/WhiteCollar'', ConspiracyTheorist Mozzie has started ''knocking on Neal's door'' in iambic pentameter.
124* ''Series/{{Moonlighting}}''[='=]s genre-bending saw a few examples of iambic pentameter, suitably lampshaded.
125** An entire episode consisted of lines in iambic pentameter. For bonus awesome, it was a hilarious parody of ''Theatre/TheTamingOfTheShrew.''
126** The scene with David, Maddie, and a hotel security officer [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fT4LqmyjexA all speaking in Seussian rhyming couplets]]:
127--->'''Security Officer:''' I'm sorry, but you're not on the guest list.\
128'''David:''' That's because we're not guests. We're looking for a man with a mole on his nose.\
129'''Officer:''' A mole on his nose?\
130'''Maddie:''' A mole on his nose.\
131'''Officer:''' ''[to Maddie]'' What kind of clothes?\
132'''Maddie:''' ''[to David]'' What kind of clothes?\
133'''David:''' What kind of clothes do you suppose?\
134'''Officer:''' What kind of clothes do I suppose would be worn by a man with a mole on his nose? Who knows?\
135'''David:''' Did I happen to mention,did I bother to disclose, that this man that we're seeking with the mole on his nose? I'm not sure of his clothes or anything else, except he's Chinese, a big clue by itself.\
136'''Maddie:''' [[LampshadeHanging How do you do that?]]\
137'''David:''' Gotta read a lot of Creator/DrSeuss.\
138'''Officer:''' I'm sorry to say, I'm sad to report, I haven't seen anyone at all of that sort. Not a man who's Chinese with a mole on his nose with some kind of clothes that you can't suppose. So get away from this door and get out of this place, or I'll have to hurt you - put my foot in your face.\
139'''David:''' Oh.\
140'''Maddie:''' Time to go.\
141'''David:''' Time to go.
142* ''Series/TheWestWing'':
143** One episode had the president and staff wondering about the mental capacity of one of the Justices of the Supreme Court after he issued comments in Iambic Tetrameter, identified positively by the writing staff.
144** Ainsley Hayes apparently does this as a nervous tic, such as in this exchange from "And It's Surely to Their Credit":
145--->'''Ainsley''': Mr. Tribbey? I'd like to do well on this, my first assignment. Any advice you could give me that might point me the way of success would be, by me, appreciated.\
146'''Lionel Tribbey''': Well, not speaking in iambic pentameter might be a step in the right direction.
147* In the 2000 ''Series/{{Dune}}'' miniseries, the Baron Harkonnen was fond of speaking in rhyming couplets.
148* Two [[MonsterOfTheWeek Monsters of the Week]] from ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' did this, the Pumpkin Rapper and the Hate Master.
149* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
150** Although probably unintentional, in "The Mountain and the Viper" Daenerys Targaryen banishes someone with a rhyming couplet.
151--->If you're found in Meereen past break of day\
152I'll have your head thrown into Slavers' Bay
153** The play ''[[ShowWithinAShow The Bloody Hand]]'' is performed entirely in rhyming meter.
154* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
155** "The Crusades", which features a guest cast made up of the big Shakespearean actors of the day, has much of their dialogue written in iambic pentameter (usually in scenes where none of the TARDIS crew are present).
156** Probably accidental, but "Colony in Space" gives us a threat delivered in a dactylic rhyming couplet:
157--->Then you can stay in your ship 'till you rot. Try to get out, you'll be shot on the spot.
158** Much of Davros's MotiveRant at the Doctor in "Genesis of the Daleks" is written this way, probably to draw attention to the Shakespearean elements of Davros's character:
159--->'''Davros''': Evil? No - no! I will not accept that.\
160They are conditioned simply to survive.\
161They can survive only by becoming\
162the dominant species. When all other\
163life forms are suppressed, when the Daleks are\
164the supreme rulers of the universe,\
165then you will have peace, wars will end. They are\
166the power not of evil, but of good.\
167(...)That pow'r would set me up above the gods.\
168And through the Daleks, I shall have that pow'r!
169* While in Sam's body, the angel [[spoiler:Gadreel]] from ''[[{{Series/Supernatural}} Supernatural]]'' speaks in Iambic Pentameter [[spoiler:after his real identity is revealed]].
170* ''Series/InsideNo9'': “Zanzibar” is an {{homage}} to Shakespeare’s comedies, so all of the dialogue is in in iambic pentameter.
171* ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'': The opening lines of one of the trailers are in iambic tetrameter, one of Tolkien's favorite meters.
172-->'''Galadriel:''' We thought the war at last was ended\
173'''Gil-galad:''' Today, our days pf peace begin.\
174'''Galadriel:''' We thought our joy would be unending. We thought our light would never dim.
175[[/folder]]
176
177[[folder:Print Media]]
178* Found in the "MAD Personal Columns" in an issue of ''Magazine/{{Mad}}'':
179-->HANDSOME MAN who speaks in rhyme, seeks a gal who's mighty fine. I'm wealthy, smart and 43, but all my friends are sick of me. All I do is speak in verse; I say I'll stop and then get worse. So if you like a man who's dumb, write to me--BOX 41.
180[[/folder]]
181
182[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
183* ''{{TabletopGame/Forsooth}}'': The game gives a guide for some Elizabethan phrases; though it doesn't advocate actually improvising in meter, some very motivated players try.
184[[/folder]]
185
186[[folder:Theatre]]
187* There is a very amusing scene in ''Theatre/GoodnightDesdemonaGoodMorningJuliet'', where the main character, having been sucked into ''Theatre/{{Othello}}'', realizes that she is now effortlessly speaking in iambic pentameter.
188-->It's all so strange, What's even stranger though\
189I speak in blank verse like the characters\
190Unrhymed Iambical Pentameter\
191It seems to come quite naturally to me\
192I feel so eloquent and... [[ShapedLikeItself eloquent]].\
193My God. I think I'm on an acid trip.
194* Subverted in Creator/{{Moliere}}'s ''[[Theatre/TheBourgeoisGentleman Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme]]'', in which the title character, having learned that it is more elegant to speak in prose rather than affecting metre, is delighted to learn he has been speaking prose all his life without knowing it.
195* Creator/GilbertAndSullivan's operetta, ''Theatre/PrincessIda'' has its dialogue in blank verse, which is unrhymed iambic pentameter. The long Creator/AlfredLordTennyson poem that ''Princess Ida'' parodies used the same meter.
196* Creator/WilliamShakespeare has been known to indulge in this trope:
197** Many of the Bard's loftier plays are written in iambic pentameter, but he lampshades it in ''Theatre/AsYouLikeIt'', where Rosalind amusedly speaks in iambic pentameter with the pretentious Jaques, but immediately lapses into prose upon leaving him and meeting Orlando.
198** Because even Elizabethan prose had a habit of falling into the cadence of iambic pentameter, it's not always clear whether Shakespeare ''meant'' certain passages to follow that meter or not. For example, critics and printers have disagreed sharply about whether crucial scenes in ''Theatre/KingLear'' were verse or prose.
199* The play ''King Charles III'', which is set in modern-day England.
200[[/folder]]
201
202[[folder:Video Games]]
203* Rokumonsen in ''VideoGame/ArmoredCoreVIFiresOfRubicon'' loves kabuki theater, which leads him to belt out his threats against 621 in haiku.
204* ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain'' wouldn't be itself without this.
205* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'': The Occuria, the immortals that muck about with history, speak, for the most part, in iambic tetrameter. The rebel of their number speaks in iambic pentameter. This may be a reference to Shakespeare's ''Macbeth'', in which the Witches speak trochaic tetrameter (four feet, alternating stress, starting with a stressed syllable) to help illustrate their otherworldly nature.
206* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'': Bastian speaks entirely in iambic pentameter (or what the localizers ''thought'' was iambic pentameter at least; he repeatedly gets the syllable stress that's central to it wrong, so he basically just speaks in sets of ten syllables). Elincia also uses it for a RousingSpeech. This reoccurs in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'': the prince of Daein, Pelleas, once gives a speech that's mostly in this meter to his troops. Yet Bastian's verse is nowhere to be found.
207* ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' series:
208** The Flood intelligence Gravemind (usually) speaks in rhyming couplets of trochaic heptameter ([[MythologyGag seven being Bungie's]] ArcNumber), increasing its already [[LargeHam impressive hamminess]]. For example, referring to Master Chief and the Arbiter, respectively:
209--->[[{{Determinator}} This one is machine and nerve, and has its mind concluded]].\
210[[KnightTemplar This one is but flesh and faith, and is the more deluded]].
211** When Cortana asked it why it did so in ''[[Literature/HaloEvolutions Human Weakness]]'', it simply said it was preference, as after having consumed many poets from different cultures, it grew fond of their gifts.
212--->'''Gravemind:''' I have the memories of many poets far beyond your limited human culture. And I have the quickness of intellect to compose all manner of poetic forms as I speak rather than labor over mere words for days.
213* The elven hero Findan from ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic V'' speaks in various kinds of poetic metre. Many of his lines are haiku.
214* In ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaOrderOfEcclesia'', every line Barlowe says between Shanoa losing her memory and [[spoiler:the beginning of his boss fight]] is in iambic pentameter.
215* ''VideoGame/{{Vangers}}'' featured Eleepods - a race of fat and lazy worms obsessed with poetry. Their manner of speech also resembles blank verse, but this was LostInTranslation.
216* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'' has one character in a flashback who doesn't usually speak this way, but punctuates one of his lines to make it especially blatant:
217-->Ironic, isn't it? For '''one''' who '''has''' the '''right''' to '''be''' a '''god'''!
218* ''VideoGame/ChildOfLight'' has this for the narration. Justified in that the story is presented as someone reading from a book of fairy tales.
219* Julien, of ''VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonAndTheAzranLegacy'' speaks like this (in the English version of the game, at least), being a parody of Romeo from ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet''.
220* [=Zer0=] of ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'' speaks entirely in {{haiku}}, unless he's only saying one or two words. No one else is sure why he does so. During his appearance in ''VideoGame/TalesFromTheBorderlands'', he carries on an ECHO conversation with Moxxi where he appears to speak normally, but if you just take his side of the conversation, you'll notice it still forms a haiku anyway.
221-->'''[=Zer0=]:''' My quest is not done.\
222'''Moxxi:''' My reward for you is gonna be long, ''hard'', and '''''powerful'''''.\
223'''[=Zer0=]:''' [[NotDistractedByTheSexy Gortys remains out of reach.]]\
224'''Moxxi:''' [[DontExplainTheJoke It's a rocket launcher!]]\
225'''[=Zer0=]:''' Yes. Innuendo. ''[hangs up and shakes his head in frustration]''
226* ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'' features gratuitous haiku, limerick, and anapestic tetrameter.
227* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'':
228** Solas occasionally slips into iambic pentameter, though it's subtle enough to miss if you aren't looking for it. [[GeniusBonus The Inquisitor gains approval from him if they respond in kind.]]
229** The descriptions in the Twin Daggers ability tree are written in iambic pentameter, and the main abilities rhyme with their upgrades. For example:
230--->'''Flank Attack:''' You leap through shadows to attack your foe with deadly strikes that hit them from behind.\
231'''Skirmisher:''' Before your target turns to face your blow, you move to stealth, impossible to find.
232* In ''VideoGame/FaeryLegendsOfAvalon'', Bert talks in rhyming poetry — except when [[spoiler:he's confessing to having been sent to spy on you, which makes him too nervous to keep the rhyming up]].
233* In ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV'', almost all of Zeku's win quotes are presented in haiku. Capcom dropped this with the Season 4 characters, for whom he gives more normal win quotes (the only one that is even close is the one he gives to E. Honda, but the metric doesn't fit). Also, the win quotes against Blanka and Cody are missing the third verse for some reason.
234* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestXI:'' The inhabitants of the town of Hotto all speak in haiku.
235* In ''VideoGame/TangleTower,'' you can get information on each of the characters by presenting their profiles to each other. In the case of Poppy, the resident moody, artsy {{Goth}}, she will recite brief iambic [[RhymesOnADime rhyming]] poetry about every character except herself.
236* In ''Videogame/SpyroYearOfTheDragon'' everyone in the Spooky Swamp levels speak in Haiku. This even includes characters who aren't native to the level such as Sheila and Moneybags (who complains about having to speak in haiku... In haiku).
237* Nearly every piece of dialogue from the Middle Ages chapter in the remake of ''VideoGame/LiveALive'' is written in iambic pentameter, which gives the whole chapter the feel of a play by Shakespeare. [[spoiler:Which is a horrific form of {{Foreshadowing}} if you know [[{{Tragedy}} what kind of plays Shakespeare was most known for.]]]]
238[[/folder]]
239
240[[folder:Webcomics]]
241* ''WebComic/{{xkcd}}'' has [[http://xkcd.com/79/ a strip]] featuring actual iambic pentameter.
242* Hibachi and the other [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragons]] in ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob''
243* ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent'': Marten gets hired by the university library on the spot when he [[http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=691 notices]] that the application form is written in iambic pentameter.
244* ''Webcomic/OzyAndMillie'' once had an iambic pen''slam''eter, where they poked fun at each other in iambic pentameter. Then Llewellen showed up and invited them to pie in iambic pentameter, which Ozy declared a coincidence; he always talks like that when baking pie.
245* One of the languages you can view the fancomic ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids'' in is "'''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin poetry]]'''".
246* ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'' has a subtle but very powerful use at the painfully emotional climax of chapter 30:
247-->'''[[spoiler: Jeanne]]:''' And you, coddled child of that damned place, you come here to mock me with this gleaming heart of yours. This luxury, afforded by my death... it should be mine to take.
248* ''Webcomic/PlanetOfHats'' uses pentameter exclusively for its spoof of the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "[[http://www.mezzacotta.net/planetofhats/episodes/0013.html The Conscience of the King]]", which is about a Shakespearian actor.
249* With ''Webcomic/IrregularWebcomic'' having William Shakespeare as a character, it makes sense that some would appear in-story. But none better than the ''FourOneNineScam in iambic pentameter''. [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/524.html Behold.]]
250[[/folder]]
251
252[[folder:Web Original]]
253* The Website/{{Tumblr}} blog ''[[http://www.popsonnet.com/ Pop Sonnets]]'' translated lyrics to well-known songs into Shakespearean sonnets. Sadly, it apparently went inactive in 2016, but not before releasing [[https://www.amazon.com/Pop-Sonnets-Shakespearean-Spins-Favorite/dp/1594748284 a book.]]
254[[/folder]]
255
256[[folder:Web Video]]
257* Played straight in the ''WebVideo/EpicRapBattlesOfHistory'' episode "Dr Seuss vs Shakespeare", as it is done by the Bard (well, George Watsky) himself, in the first several lines:
258-->Come bite my thumb!\
259I hope you know the stakes\
260I'll put a slug between your shoulder blades\
261Then ask what light through yonder poser breaks?\
262[[LampshadeHanging I hath been iambic on that ass ye bastard]]
263* When Kyle introduces ''WebVideo/BrowsHeldHigh'''s Shakespeare month, he does the entire introductory video in iambic pentameter. Concluding with a fervent (almost frightened) affirmation that he is ''not'' going to be doing the whole month like that.
264* ''Webvideo/HonestTrailers'' starts off ''Film/WilliamShakespearesRomeoAndJuliet'' with a regular InAWorld narration, but then decides this trope is the only way to do that movie justice.
265* Strong Sad goes on a 'lyric rampage' using Iambic Pentameter in the ''WebAnimation/StrongBadEmail'' "Rampage". For such a professed lover of poetry, he's really bad at it, forcing trochees into iambs and tacking on an awkward fifth one when he runs out of ideas. He's immediately laughed off the stage by Strong Bad and Coach Z.
266-->The '''quill'''. The '''page'''.\
267Ly-'''ric''' ram-'''page'''.\
268Umm... Word '''up'''?
269* The entire 1619 segment of ''WebVideo/DoorMonster'''s [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgBroTY2cQU "A Bat By Any Other Man" video]] is spoken in Shakespearean verse.
270* ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'': Galactus and Unicron begin speaking in iambic pentameter halfway through their battle as they power up to their godlike, galaxy-sized forms.
271-->'''Unicron:''' Beg not for mercy; behold black'nd sky/Against mine Chaos, even ''gods'' will die!
272-->'''Galactus:''' Galactus heeds your challenge, hears your call/His word shall bring destruction to it all.
273[[/folder]]
274
275[[folder:Western Animation]]
276* In the Hungarian translation of ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones'', everybody speaks in rhymes for some reason.
277* Wordsworth in ''WesternAnimation/HeathcliffAndTheCatillacCats'' doesn't take the name of a poet for nothing.
278* ''WesternAnimation/{{Underdog}}'' speaks in rhyming couplets. Interestingly, his alter-ego Shoeshine Boy does not.
279* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
280** Everything [[WitchDoctor Zecora]] says is in rhyme. [[RhymesOnADime She does it each and every time]]. When she gets sick in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS7E18AHealthOfInformation "A Health Of Information"]], [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness she starts struggling to rhyme properly.]]
281** After getting a Haiku cutie mark in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS7E22MarksAndRecreation "Marks And Recreation"]], Kettle Corn often, [[DownplayedTrope although not at all times]], speaks in Haiku.
282[[/folder]]
283

Top