UNDERSTANDING POETRY

POEM LINES A LINE IS A UNIT OF LANGUAGE INTO WHICH A POEM OR PLAY IS DIVIDED, WHICH OPERATES ON PRINCIPLES WHICH ARE DISTINCT FROM AND NOT NECESSARILY COINCIDENT WITH GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURES, SUCH AS THE SENTENCE OR SINGLE CLAUSES IN SENTENCES.

RHYME SCHEME A RHYME SCHEME IS THE PATTERN OF RHYMES AT THE END OF EACH LINE OF A POEM OR SONG. IT IS USUALLY REFERRED TO BY USING LETTERS TO INDICATE WHICH LINES RHYME; LINES DESIGNATED WITH THE SAME LETTER ALL RHYME WITH EACH OTHER.

THE MOST COMMON TYPE OF RHYME SCHEME IS THE RHYMING COUPLET THE MOST COMMON TYPE OF RHYME SCHEME IS THE RHYMING COUPLET.  A COUPLET IS A TWO LINE STANZA, SO THERE IS ONLY ONE PLACE FOR THOSE TWO RHYMED WORDS TO FALL.  RHYMING COUPLETS CAN BE REPEATED OR THEY CAN BE MIXED WITH OTHER RHYME SCHEMES FOR A MORE COMPLEX STRUCTURE. COUPLETS WHICH ARE DEPICTED LIKE THIS: AA BB CC, ETC.  

THE BOX TO THE RIGHT SHOWS AN ABCB RHYME SCHEME THE BOX TO THE RIGHT SHOWS AN ABCB RHYME SCHEME.  THE FIRST AND THIRD LINES DO NOT RHYME, HENCE THE USE OF DIFFERENT LETTERS TO REPRESENT THOSE LINES (A AND C). BUT THE SECOND AND FOURTH LINES DO RHYME SO THE SAME LETTER (B) IS USED TO REPRESENT THOSE TWO LINES. BOTH OF THESE RHYME SCHEMES ARE CALLED ALTERNATE LINE RHYME SCHEMES BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THE RHYME IS ON ALTERNATE LINES.

RHYMED TERCETS WOULD BE DEPICTED LIKE SO: AAA BBB CCC  RHYMED TERCETS WOULD BE DEPICTED LIKE SO: AAA BBB CCC.  THE LINES TO THE RIGHT ARE FROM DR. SEUSS’ GREEN EGGS AND HAM (RANDOM HOUSE, 1960). DR. SEUSS WROTE ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY IN RHYMED COUPLETS.  WITH COUPLETS, THE RHYME IS MORE IMMEDIATE AND PREDICTABLE, WHICH IS GOOD FOR KIDS WHO HAVE SHORT ATTENTION SPANS.  THE METER HERE IS IAMBIC TETRAMETER. 

A RHYME SCHEME IS USUALLY REPEATED IN EACH STANZA OF A GIVEN WORK, SO IF THE FIRST STANZA IS AN ABAB, GENERALLY THE SUBSEQUENT STANZAS ARE ALSO.  BUT IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE.  LOOK AT THE STANZA BELOW.  IT’S FROM JOHN LITHGOW’S FARKLE MCBRIDE (ALLADIN 2000).  THE RHYME SCHEME IS ABAAAB.

THE IMAGE TO THE RIGHT IS A SONNET THE IMAGE TO THE RIGHT IS A SONNET.  YOU DON’T HAVE TO KNOW THE SPECIFICS OF IT, BUT KNOW THAT THERE ARE SEVERAL DIFFERENT TYPES OF SONNETS AND THEY EACH HAVE A DIFFERENT RHYME SCHEME.  EVEN THOUGH ALL SONNETS HAVE EXACTLY 14 LINES AND THEY ARE GENERALLY WRITTEN IN IAMBIC PENTAMETER, MANY AUTHORS CHOSE TO INVENT THEIR OWN RHYME SCHEME.  YOU CAN INVENT YOUR OWN, AS WELL.  THIS IS A SHAKESPEAREAN SONNET AND IT MIGHT BE SHAKESPEARE’S MOST FAMOUS ONE. OF COURSE, THAT IS DEBATABLE.

INTERNAL VS EXTERNAL EXTERNAL RHYMES FALL AT THE ENDS OF LINES AND ARE GENERALLY PART OF A RHYME SCHEME . AN INTERNAL RHYME IS WHEN AT LEAST ONE WORD OF THE RHYMING PAIR FALLS SOMEWHERE INSIDE THE STANZA OR LINE. THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF INTERNAL RHYME: RANDOM AND STRUCTURED.

Think of it like this: ←Internal Rhyme External Rhyme→

EXTERNAL RHYMES EXTERNAL RHYMES FALL AT THE ENDS OF LINES.  WHILE MOST RHYME SCHEMES CONTAIN RHYMES AT THE ENDS OF EVERY LINE, SOME CONTAIN RHYMES AT THE END OF EVERY OTHER LINE.  ONE IMPORTANT FEATURE OF EXTERNAL RHYMES IS THAT THEY ARE MANDATORY.  AN EXTERNAL RHYME IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF YOUR RHYME SCHEME AND IF IT IS MISSING, THE STORY OR POEM WILL SEEM FLAWED.

INTERNAL RHYMES: RANDOM & STRUCTURED THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF INTERNAL RHYMES: RANDOM AND STRUCTURED.  RANDOM INTERNAL RHYMES ARE SIMPLE; THEY CAN FALL ANYWHERE IN CLOSE ENOUGH PROXIMITY THAT THE SOUND FEELS REPEATED.  SOUND REPETITION MAKES A STORY OR POEM FEEL UNIFIED AND CLEVER.  THE RHYMED WORDS CAN BE IN TWO SEPARATE LINES OF A COUPLET OR TERCET, OR THEY CAN BE IN THE SAME LINE.  INTERNAL RHYMES OFTEN GO ENTIRELY UNNOTICED, LIKE THIS LINE FROM WATCH YOUR TONGUE, CECILY BEASLEY : 

BEAS (IN BEASLEY)/ PLEASE EXTERNAL RHYME: POLITE/NIGHT.   INTERNAL RHYME: BEAS  (IN BEASLEY)/ PLEASE

EXTERNAL RHYME: NOUNS/CLOWNS EXTERNAL RHYME: NOUNS/CLOWNS. INTERNAL RHYME: SNAPPY (LINE #1)/HAPPY (LINE #2).