rhyme scheme

Sonnet's letter sequence

A rhyme scheme is the pattern of end rhymes in a poem or song, typically notated with letters: ABAB indicates alternating rhymes, AABB indicates couplets.

The Shakespearean sonnet follows an ABAB CDCD EFEF GG rhyme scheme.

Analyzing rhyme scheme reveals structural choices and can identify poetic forms.

pattern

ABBA

Swedish disco-era pop group

coupletTwo successive verse lines
tercetThree-line verse unit
quatrainFour-line poetic unit

sestet · octave · monorhyme · interlocking

forms

sonnet

Fourteen-line metered poem

limerickComedic five-line poem
villanelleRepeating-refrain verse structure
balladNarrative poem or song

sestina · ode · rondeau · ottava rima · Spenserian · Petrarchan · Shakespearean · tanka · heroic couplet · blank verse

technique

assonance

Vowel sound repetition

consonanceHarmonious sound combination

Categories

literary devicesmetaphor, simile, hyperbole, personification, alliteration
poetry instructionmeter, stanza, verse, free verse, imagery
RhymeABBA, monorhyme, couplet, couplets
poetry criticismmeter, scansion, prosody, close reading, explication
Hip-Hoprapper, rappers, beat, lyrics, freestyle
literary elementsplot, character, setting, theme, narrator

Opposites

poetic structure type

rhyme schememeter

Device that measures usage

rhythm · stress pattern · syllable count · line length · scansion

presence vs. absence of end-rhyme pattern

rhyme schemefree verse

Poetry without fixed structure

blank verse · prose poetry · prose · stream of consciousness

sonic regularity

rhyme schemecacophony

Harsh, clashing sounds

dissonance · atonality · asymmetry

Family

scheme, rhyme, rhythm, rhythmic, rhymes, rhyming, rhymed, schematic, schema

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