decasyllables

A decasyllable is a line of verse that contains ten syllables. The term is used in prosody to describe the length of a line, irrespective of specific stress patterns. Because syllable counts depend on language and pronunciation, a decasyllable can be realized with different rhythmic shapes in different poetic traditions.

In French poetry, the vers décasyllabe is a traditional metrical unit used in narrative and lyric verse. French decasyllables are often organized around a caesura that divides the line into two halves, contributing a natural pause and allowing varied rhythms within the ten-syllable framework. This form has appeared in various periods of French literature and is studied as part of classical prosody.

In English-language poetics, lines with ten syllables regularly occur in iambic pentameter, which comprises five metrical feet and is often described in terms of rhythm rather than syllable count. The concept of a dedicated “decasyllable” is less central in English, where a ten-syllable line may be discussed simply as a ten-syllable line or as a manifestation of iambic pentameter, depending on the metrical pattern.

The decasyllable is contrasted with longer or shorter lines, such as hendecasyllables (eleven syllables) or shorter meters used in various languages. Its usage highlights how authors adapt fixed-length lines to different poetic aims, from narrative clarity to musicality and rhyme.