PDF chapter test TRY NOW
The pattern of rhymes at the ending of each line in a poem is called a rhyme scheme. Letters (A,B,C...) are usually used to express which lines rhyme. Verses that are designated with the same letter are said to rhyme with each other. It is also known as an arrangement of rhymes in a stanza or a poem.
Example:
For easier understanding of the concept, let us take a famous nursery rhyme, written by Jane Taylor as an example.
Twinkle twinkle little star,
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high
Like a diamond in the sky.
We see that the first two lines rhyme with each other (star-are); the second two lines rhyme with each other (high-sky). Let us name each line as \(A\), \(B\) depending on the words that rhyme with each other.
| Twinkle twinkle little star, | A |
| How I wonder what you are. | A |
| Up above the world so high, | B |
| Like a diamond in the sky. | B |
It can thus be seen that this poem follows \(AABB\) pattern.
Rhyme scheme of the poem "The House on Elm Street":
| It sat alone. | \(A\) |
| What happened there is still today unknown. | \(A\) |
| It is a very mysterious place, | \(B\) |
| And inside you can tell it has a ton of space, | \(B\) |
| But at the same time it is bare to the bone. | \(A\) |
| At night the house seems to be alive, | \(A\) |
| Lights flicker on and off. | \(B\) |
| I am often tempted to go to the house, | \(C\) |
| To just take a look and see what it is really about, | \(D\) |
| But fear takes over me. | \(E\) |
| I drive past the house almost every day. | \(A\) |
| The house seems to be a bit brighter | \(B\) |
| On this warm summer day in May. | \(A\) |
| It plays with your mind. | \(C\) |
| To me I say, it is one of a kind. | \(C\) |
| Beside the house sits a tree. | \(A\) |
| It never grows leaves, | \(B\) |
| Not in the winter, spring, summer or fall. | \(C\) |
| It just sits there, never getting small or ever growing tall, | \(C\) |
| How could this be? | \(A\) |
| Rumors are constantly being made, | \(A\) |
| And each day the house just begins to fade. | \(A\) |
| What happened inside that house? | \(B\) |
| I really don't know. | \(C\) |
| I guess it will always be a mystery. | \(D\) |
Register for free to see more content