Here's what that means:
* Iamb: An iamb is a metrical foot consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. Think of the word "again" - the first syllable ("a") is unstressed, and the second syllable ("gain") is stressed.
* Pentameter: Pentameter refers to the number of metrical feet in a line of poetry. Pentameter means there are five feet in a line.
So, iambic pentameter means each line of "The Cloud" has five iambs, or ten syllables total, with alternating unstressed and stressed patterns.
Here's an example from the poem:
> "I bring fresh showers for the thirsty fields,"
This line has five iambs (bring, showers, for the thirsty, fields), each consisting of an unstressed and a stressed syllable.
Important Note: While "The Cloud" is primarily written in iambic pentameter, Shelley also employs variations and deviations to create a dynamic rhythm and reflect the movement of the cloud.