Rhyme schemes are patterns of rhyming words in poetry and songs, identified by using letters to mark the rhyming lines. Stanzas organize ideas in a poem and have a uniform length. Limericks and sonnets are specific types of poetry with strict rhyme schemes. Modern poetry may not use traditional rhymes or stanzas.
Rhyme schemes are the arrangement of rhyming words within a verse of a poem. The term can also apply to the rhyme scheme in the words of a song. Particular patterns generally apply to one type of verse, such as the limerick or sonnet. The exact pattern of an individual poem is identified by using the letters of the alphabet to mark the rhyming lines. An “abab” pattern would indicate that the final words rhyme of the first and third lines, as well as the second and fourth.
A stanza is two or more lines of poetry arranged together as a unit. It performs a similar function to that of the paragraph in other forms of writing. The stanza organizes the ideas contained within the poem into a logical progression. It represents the different steps within the poem leading up to its conclusion. Unlike a paragraph, the length of a stanza is generally uniform throughout the poem.
Rhyme schemes come in many forms and vary in complexity. There is limerick poetry, which always consists of five lines rhyming aabba. A limerick usually has a bawdy theme—some traditionalists insist it should be somewhat bawdy, too.
The English word “sonnet” comes from the Provençal “sonet” and the Italian “sonnet”, both meaning “little song”. It has come to mean generally a logically structured poem of 14 lines that follows a strict rhyme scheme. The English or Shakespearean sonnet is denoted by a pattern abab, cdcd, efef, gg. The gg represents a rhyming couplet, which consists of two lines and summarizes the theme or point of view of the poem. There are different sonnet forms that have developed in different countries of the world.
Most formal rhyme schemes are external. The rhyme occurs in the last syllable of the last word in a verse line. There are also poems that use internal rhymes. The rhyme occurs in the first line of the first stanza and is repeated in the third and part of the fourth line. American poet and writer Edgar Allan Poe’s “Quoth the Raven” is considered a masterful use of internal rhyme.
Rhyme schemes were most prominent in early modern poetry and for use in sonnets. Much modern poetry does not use traditional rhymes or uniform stanzas. A stanza may consist of as many lines as the poet needs to express a particular idea. Some modern poets still use traditional forms, but do so without rhyme. The Chilean poet Pablo Neruda created his free variation of the sonnet form exclusively for his love poems.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
