What is the effect of Iambic pentameter used in plays and poetry such as shakespeares?
It can be used to distinguish between classes. For example, when Hamlet talks to the King or Queen, he speaks in iambic verse. When he speaks to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, he speaks in prose, which denotes their lower class (and his lack of regard for them). It is always interesting when characters speak to royalty in prose or to groundlings in iambic pentameter. If asked to examine such passages (assuming you are a student), it will definitely be worth extra points to note and analyse the effect of verse or lack thereof.
