We whose Names are under-written, do assure the World, that the POEMS specified in the following Page, were (as we verily believ
e) written by PHILLIS, a young Negro Girl, who was but a few Years since, brought an uncultivated [meaning not educated] Barbarian from Africa, and has ever since been, and now is, under the Disadvantage of serving as a Slave in a Family in this Town. She has been examined by some of the best Judges, and is thought qualified to write them." (John Wheatley, To the Publick) The tone of the preceding passage can best be described as:
This is because iambic pentameter generally has 10 syllables per line. So a quick trick to use when trying to determine if a line is iambic pentameter is to count the syllables.
