Transcript Rhyme Scheme

Poetry Structure
J. Oliveira
Rhyme Scheme
A regular pattern of rhyming words in a poem. The rhyme
scheme is shown by using different letters of the alphabet for
each new rhyme. In an aabb stanza, for example, line 1 rhymes
with line 2 and line 3 rhymes with line 4.
Ex:
I wondered lonely as a cloud
a
That floats on high o’er vales and hills, b
When all at once I saw a crowd,
a
A host, of golden daffodils,
b
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
c
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze
c
Stanza
Stanza: A formal division of lines in a poem,
considered as a unit. Stanzas are
separated by spaces (imagine a
paragraph)
Quatrain: A stanza or poem made up of
four lines, usually with a definite rhythm
and rhyme scheme
Couplet, Quatrain
Couplet: A couplet is pair of rhyming lines,
usually of the same length and meter.
Ex:
For thy sweet love remember’d such wealth brings
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.
Meter
The meter of a poem is its rhythmical
pattern. This pattern is determined by the
number and types of stresses, or beats, in
each line.
Ex.
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day.
Blank Verse
Blank Verse: Poetry written in unrhymed
iambic pentameter lines. This verse form
was widely used by William Shakespeare
“My child is yet a stranger in the world
She hath not seen the change of fourteen
years”
Lyric Poem
A lyric poem is a highly musical verse that
expresses the observations and feelings of
a single speaker.
Lyric poems exhibit an endless variety of
forms. Below are some popular lyric
forms:
Haiku, Sonnet, Limerick
Free Verse
Free Verse: Poetry not written in a regular
rhythmical pattern, or meter. Free verse
tries to capture the rhythms of speech.
Homework! Oh, Homework!
by Jack Prelutsky
Homework! Oh, homework!
I hate you! You stink!
I wish I could wash you
away in the sink.
If only a bomb
would explode you to bits.
Homework! Oh, homework!
You're giving me fits.
Homework! Oh, homework!
You're last on my list.
I simply can't see
why you even exist.
If you just disappeared
it would tickle me pink.
Homework! Oh, homework!
I hate you! You stink!
I'd rather take baths
with a man-eating shark,
or wrestle a lion
alone in the dark,
eat spinach and liver,
pet ten porcupines,
than tackle the homework
my teacher assigns.
Lyric and Free Verse
Sonnet
A sonnet is a 14
line lyric poem,
usually written in
rhymed iambic
pentameter.
My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun
Coral is far more red than her lips’ red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damasked, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak. Yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground.
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.
Narrative Poem
A narrative poem tells a story. It
can be humorous or serious.
The Broken-Legg’d Man
I saw the other day when I went shopping in the
store
A man I hadn't ever, ever seen in there before,
A man whose leg was broken and who leaned
upon a crutchI asked him very kindly if it hurt him very much.
"Not at all!" said the broken-legg'd man.
I ran around behind him for I thought that I
would see
The broken leg all bandaged up and bent back
at the knee;
But I didn't see the leg at all, there wasn't any
there,
So I asked him very kindly if he had it hid
somewhere.
"Not at all!" said the broken-legg'd man.
Then where," I asked him, "is it? Did a tiger bite
it off?
Or did you get your foot wet when you had a
nasty cough?
Did someone jump down on your leg when it
was very new?
Or did you simply cut it off because you wanted
to?"
"Not at all!" said the broken-legg'd man.
"What was it then?" I asked him, and this is
what he said:
"I crossed a busy crossing when the traffic light
was red;
A big black car came whizzing by and knocked
me off my feet."
"Of course you looked both ways," I said,
"before you crossed the street."
"Not at all!" said the broken-legg'd man.
"They rushed me to the hospital right quickly,
"he went on,
"And when I woke in nice white sheets I saw my
leg was gone;
That's why you see me walking now on nothing
but a crutch."
"I'm glad," said I, "you told me, and I thank you
very much!"
"Not at all!" said the broken-legg'd man.
Ballad
A ballad is a songlike poem that tells a
story, often one dealing with adventure
and romance.
Ballad Example: Davy Crockett
Born on a mountain top in Tennessee
The greenest state in the land of the
free
Raised in the woods so's he knew
ev'ry tree
Kilt him a b'ar when he was only
three
Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild
frontier
Fought single-handed through many
a war
Till the enemy was whipped and
peace was in store
And while he was handlin' this risky
chore
He made himself a legend forever
more
Davy, Davy Crockett, the man who
knew no fear
He went off to Congress and served a
spell
Fixin' up the Government and the
laws as well
Took over Washington, so I heard tell
And he patched up the crack in the
Liberty
Bell
Davy, Davy Crockett, seeing his duty
clear
When he came home his politic'ing
was done
And the western march had just
begun
So he packed his gear and his trusty
gun
And lit out a-grinnin' to follow the sun
Davy, Davy Crockett, leading the
pioneer