1. Rhyme Scheme, Rhythm, and Meter
Relax, your ears already know what you’re about to learn!
Words in this presentation that are hyperlinked will lead you to definitions you might not know. To have slides read aloud, click on the speaker.

2. Rhyme Scheme
Students often have trouble with rhyme scheme because of the word “scheme.” Outside of literature, one meaning of “scheme” is a plan for cheating or getting something illegally.
Example: The gang’s scheme for breaking into the museum included disguises, a getaway car, and Krispy Kreme doughnuts to distract the guard.
“Scheme,” though, has another definition: a system of things or an arrangement.
Example: The scheme for the irrigation system included pop-up sprinklers, drip lines, and misters.
It’s the second definition that applies to “rhyme scheme.” When you think of “rhyme scheme,” think “rhyme arrangement.”

3. Understanding Rhyme Scheme
Finding the rhyme scheme is easy. Read the poem to the right. Notice the coloring of the words at the ends of the lines. All the words at the ends of the lines that have the same sound are shaded the same color.
Now, if you were taking a test and asked to show the rhyme scheme of this sonnet, you’d have to get out crayons or highlighters to show rhyme scheme this way. That’s not practical. There is an easier way to show rhyme scheme using the alphabet.
“Sonnet 65” by William Shakespeare*
Since brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless sea,
But sad mortality o'er-sways their power,
How with this rage shall beauty hold a plea,
Whose action is no stronger than a flower?
O, how shall summer's honey breath hold out
Against the wreckful siege of battering days,
When rocks impregnable are not so stout,
Nor gates of steel so strong, but Time decays?
O fearful meditation! where, alack,
Shall Time's best jewel from Time's chest lie hid?
Or what strong hand can hold his swift foot back?
Or who his spoil of beauty can forbid?
O, none, unless this miracle have might,
That in black ink my love may still shine bright.
*For a translation of this sonnet into modern English click here:

4. Showing Rhyme Scheme
Use the alphabet to show rhyme scheme, instead of using colors. Give every rhyme the same letter. A B C D E F G
“Sonnet 65” by William Shakespeare
Since brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless sea,
But sad mortality o'er-sways their power,
How with this rage shall beauty hold a plea,
Whose action is no stronger than a flower?
O, how shall summer's honey breath hold out
Against the wreckful siege of battering days,
When rocks impregnable are not so stout,
Nor gates of steel so strong, but Time decays?
O fearful meditation! where, alack,
Shall Time's best jewel from Time's chest lie hid?
Or what strong hand can hold his swift foot back?
Or who his spoil of beauty can forbid?
O, none, unless this miracle have might,
That in black ink my love may still shine bright.
If you were given the question, “What is the rhyme scheme of this poem and is it regular or irregular?” you’re answer would look like this:
The rhyme scheme of this poem is ABABCDCDEFEFGG. It is a regular rhyme scheme because the first and third line of each quatrain rhyme, as do the second and fourth. The final couplet also rhymes.
You might be saying to yourself, “OK, I get rhyme scheme, but what good does it do me?” The answer, dear friend, is on the next slide.

5. What’s the Point of Rhyme Scheme?
Think of rhyme scheme as a secret code that will help you unlock the poet’s meaning. A B C D E F G
“Sonnet 65” by William Shakespeare
Since brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless sea,
But sad mortality o'er-sways their power,
How with this rage shall beauty hold a plea,
Whose action is no stronger than a flower?
O, how shall summer's honey breath hold out
Against the wreckful siege of battering days,
When rocks impregnable are not so stout,
Nor gates of steel so strong, but Time decays?
O fearful meditation! where, alack,
Shall Time's best jewel from Time's chest lie hid?
Or what strong hand can hold his swift foot back?
Or who his spoil of beauty can forbid?
O, none, unless this miracle have might,
That in black ink my love may still shine bright.
Shakespearean sonnets all follow the same form:
Each has 14 lines.
There are 3 quatrains that express related ideas.
There is the ending couplet that sums up the author’s point or makes a conclusion.
The rhyme scheme is almost always the same.
The first quatrain (4 lines) points out that hard objects and even the sea are changed over time.
The second quatrain gives more examples, such as sweet summer air, rocks, and steel, that decay over time.
In the third quatrain he wonders how beauty can hide from Time.
In the couplet, he hopes that this black ink—this sonnet—will preserve his partner’s beauty.

6. “I’ve Got Rhythm, I’ve Got Music….” Part 1
If you caught the allusion in the title of this card, you’re either older than most high school students or are a fan of Ethel Merman or Broadway musicals.
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 ( ) syllables in poetry or verse. Just as we can measure distance in meters, we can measure the beats in a poem in meter.
Let’s say that you’re good at music and that I’m not. I want you to create some music for me with a certain beat. This is the beat that I want:
lub-DUB lub-DUB lub-DUB lub-DUB lub-DUB
It would get irritating after a while to have to keep saying “lub-DUB” every time I wanted to ask you to use this rhythm. There’s got to be an easier way. There is! Just go to the next slide.

7. “I’ve Got Rhythm, I’ve Got Music….” Part 2
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.
Sometimes, though, I’m going to want you to reverse the beat:
DUB-lub DUB-lub DUB-lub DUB-lub DUB-lub
Still, having to do all those markings would take time. Too bad there isn’t an easier way to talk about beats. There is! I could name them. I could name them anything I want. I could name lub-DUB “Fred,” and DUB-lub “Barney.” However, if everyone didn’t use the same names to represent the same beats, it would get confusing. Well, these beats do have names, as you will see on the next slide. 1 2 3 4 5

8. “I’ve Got Rhythm, I’ve Got Music….” Part 3
“Iamb” is the name of the meter lub-DUB as in the word convince. Notice that each syllable must be marked.
“Trochee” is the name of the meter DUB-lub as in the word borrow.
Other types of meter have their own names, too:
“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.
There are lots of other names for different meters, but that’s enough for now.
If a poem mostly has iambs, it is called “iambic.” Have you learned that Shakespeare wrote most of his plays and poems in iambic pentameter? The next slide will tell you what that term means.

9. “I’ve Got Rhythm, I’ve Got Music….” Part 4
“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.
If you’re not sure if you’ve identified the meter in a line of poetry correctly, reverse the accented and unaccented syllables and then read it aloud. If it sounds wrong, you were right the first time. Give it a try with the line above. Stress the syllables with the unaccented marks. It should sound strange.

10. “I’ve Got Rhythm, I’ve Got Music….” Part 5
How does understanding meter help you understand a poem? If the meter is very simple, like that in a children’s book, that will help you know that the message or theme of the poem is probably humorous. A complicated meter might indicate a more complicated theme.
Just as a poet might change the rhyme scheme for a specific purpose, a change in meter might indicate that the poet is trying to change the topic or make some other type of transition. Shakespeare usually had his noble characters (e.g., kings, queens, generals, etc.) speak in iambic pentameter, but his lower characters (e.g., servants and peasants) would speak in regular language.
If you’re wondering why Shakespeare chose to write in iambs, maybe it’s because the iamb is the rhythm of the heart beat!

11. Definitions Click on the hyperlinks to return to the slide you were reading.
Alliteration = the repeating of the same or very similar consonant sounds usually at the beginnings of words that are close together
Examples: Betty Botta bought some butter. “But,” said she, “this butter’s bitter.”
Allusion = a reference to a person, place, event, or thing from history, literature, sports, religion, mythology, politics, etc. to make a point
Example: “I had a terrible game today. I shot like Shaq.” This is an allusion because if the listener knows who Shaq is and how poorly he shoots free throws, then the listener will know just how bad the speaker is.
Assonance = the repeating of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds in words that are close together
Example: An abbot on an ambling pad….
Consonance = the repeating of final consonants after different vowel sounds in words that are close together
Examples: East and west dug the dog…
Couplet = two adjacent lines of poetry that rhyme
Quatrain = a group of four lines unified by rhyme scheme
Repetition = the repeating of any words, phrases, or sounds
Rhyme
End Rhyme = the repeating of similar vowel sounds at the ends of lines
Example: I don’t think I will ever see A sight as lovely as a tree.
Internal Rhyme = the repeating of similar vowel sounds within lines
Examples: The cat in the hat sure got fat off mice and rice.