What is Rhyme and Rhyme Scheme of a Poem
What is Rhyme and Its Importance
Rhyme of a poem means similar stressed vowel sounds occur mostly in the last words and sometimes in the middle words of the verses of a stanza or poem. Common vowel sounds are also called “Assonance” and common consonant sounds are called “Consonance”. For example ‘money’ and ‘honey’ have rhyming sounds with each other. Both words have similar stressed vowel sound ‘ey’ which makes them rhyming words. When this type of words occur in the middle or end of both the lines of a verse, it is called rhyming verse. Rhyme has been an important feature of english poetry since Chaucer’s Age. Rhyme along with meter is used to create music and rhythm in poetry and gives different poetical forms to the poem. However there are some poetical forms like blank verse and free verse where rhyme is not used.
What is Rhyme Scheme of a Poem
Rhyming sounds in every line of a stanza are collectively called rhyme scheme of a poem. Rhyme scheme lends smoothness, appeal, musicality ,ear-fascinating rhythm and an effect of unity to poem. Most part of english poetry keeps rhyme as an essential element but some portion of english poetry especially modern poetry does not give considerable importance to rhyme scheme.
How to Find Rhyme Scheme of a Poem
Rhyme scheme is a typical pattern of rhymes of a stanza in a poem. Normally poets use rhyme scheme to add a musical sound effect to their poems. To find out rhyme scheme of a poem we have to identify rhymes occurring at the end of every line of stanza and label every new ending rhyme with a different letters. If the same rhyme occurs again in the same stanza then again same above given letter will be assigned to the identical rhyme. In the end arrange all the letters assigned at the end of every line in an order and there will be rhyme scheme for a stanza. Rhyme scheme of first stanza of a poem remains same for the whole poem.
So in the above image there is a poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by William Wordsworth. The rhyme scheme of first stanza is ABABCC where first line ends with the rhyme cloud which is given letter A and second line ends with the rhyme hills which is given letter B. Third line ends with the similar rhyme crowd as of first line cloud so it is again given letter A. Same is the case with fourth line which ends with the similar rhyme daffodils as of second line hills, so it is agian given letter B. Fifth and sixth line end with trees and breeze respectively so they are given C letter. As a whole it becomes ABABCC and same rhythm scheme follows in every stanza throughout the poem. For more details click the link below
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