Dothead

The poem consists of 29 lines, most of them iambic pentameters. Pentameters (Greek for “five measures”) are verses (lines of poetry) that contain five metric feet (units of poetic rhythm). In this case, each metric foot consists of two syllables, with the accent on the second syllable (as in the word “be-yond”). That kind of metric foot is called an iamb. Therefore, a verse with five iambs is an iambic pentameter. A proper iambic pentameter contains 10 syllables, and the accent falls on the second, fourth, sixth, eight, and tenth syllable.

Here is an example from the poem:

Well, yes, I said, my mother wears a dot.

I know they said “third eye” in class, but it’s not (Lines 1-2)

Most readers would accentuate the highlighted syllables. However, only the first quoted line is a real iambic pentameter. The last metric foot in the second line is not an iamb, but an anapest (a metric foot in which two unstressed syllables are followed by a stressed syllable), which makes that verse 11 syllables long. Except for a few similar variations in other lines, the poem adheres to the structure of iambic pentameters.