1. Rhyme Scheme, Rhythm, and Meter

2. Rhyme & Rhyme Scheme I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, NOT ALL POEMS HAVE TO RHYME!!! But some do, so let’s talk about it. Rhyme (noun)-a word agreeing with another in terminal sound: Find is a rhyme for mind and womankind. (verb)-to compose (verse or the like) in metrical form with rhymes. (www.dictionary.com)www.dictionary.com

3. Rhyming Poems A rhyming poem is a verse poem that contains rhyming words at the end of certain lines. The Couplet The Limerick The Ballad Stanza (including the short and long) Octaves

4. Rhyme Scheme A poem’s Rhyme Scheme=the poem’s Rhyme Arrangement The following is an example of what they call a regular rhyme scheme: “Sonnet 65” by William Shakespeare 1. Since brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless sea,A 2. But sad mortality o'er-sways their power,B 3. How with this rage shall beauty hold a plea,A 4. Whose action is no stronger than a flower?B 5. O, how shall summer's honey breath hold outC 6. Against the wreckful siege of battering days,D 7. When rocks impregnable are not so stout,C 8. Nor gates of steel so strong, but Time decays?D 9. O fearful meditation! where, alack,E 10. Shall Time's best jewel from Time's chest lie hid?F 11. Or what strong hand can hold his swift foot back?E 12. Or who his spoil of beauty can forbid?F 13. O, none, unless this miracle have might,G 14. That in black ink my love may still shine bright.G

5. Rhythm Rhythm is the musical quality of language produced by repetition, especially in poetry (also called “verse”). Many literary elements create rhythm, including alliteration, assonance, consonance, meter, repetition, and rhyme. Meter is a generally regular pattern of stressed ( / ) and unstressed ( x ) syllables in poetry or verse. Just as we can measure distance in meters, we can measure the beats in a poem in meter.

6. Rhythm cont. English poetry employs five basic rhythms of varying stressed (/) and unstressed (x) syllables. The meters are iambs, trochees, spondees, anapests and dactyls. Each unit of rhythm is called a "foot" of poetry.

7. Still talking about Rhythm “Iamb” is the name of the meter lub-DUB as in the word convince. Notice that each syllable must be marked. If a poem mostly has iambs, it is called “iambic.” Shakespeare wrote most of his plays and poems in iambic pentameter “Trochee” is the name of the meter DUB-lub as in the word borrow. Other types of meter: “Anapest” is the name of the meter lub-lub-DUB as in the world contradict. “Dactyl” is the name of the meter DUB-lub-lub as in the word accurate. “Spondee” is the name of the meter DUB-DUB as in the word seaweed.

8. Keep that Rythm In the beat below, notice that there are five different measures or units to it. lub-DUB lub-DUB lub-DUB lub-DUB lub-DUB Each unit or measure is made of two separate beats. That means that the whole line has 10 total beats (5 x 2 = 10). The first beat is softer than the second beat. I can use markings to show the softer and harder (unaccented and accented) beats. lub-DUB lub-DUB lub-DUB lub-DUB lub-DUB Sometimes, though, I’m going to want you to reverse the beat: DUB-lub DUB-lub DUB-lub DUB-lub DUB-lub

9. Back to Iambs “Iamb” is the name of the meter lub-DUB as in the word convince. Notice that each syllable must be marked. “Pentameter” begins with the prefix “pent,” which refers to the number 5 (e.g., pentagram and pentagon). The root word “meter” refers to measurement. Something in “iambic pentameter” has five measures of lub-DUB. Example: But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? Read the above line aloud and put more stress on the syllables with the accent marks.