1. The Sounds of Poetry Hear the Music Make It Rhyme Rhythm and Meter
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Hear the Music
Make It Rhyme
Rhythm and Meter
Free Verse
Sound Effects
Practice

2. Hear the Music
Poetry’s musical quality makes it different from other forms of literature. A good poem practically sings.
To achieve this musical effect, poets use
rhyme
rhythm
sound effects
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3. Make It Rhyme
Rhyme—repetition of the sound of the stressed vowel and any sounds that follow it in words that are close together in a poem.
Listen to the poem and then identify the rhymes.
And haply a bell with a luring call Summoned their feet to tread Midst the cruel rocks, where the deep pitfall And the lurking snare are spread.
—from “Black Sheep” by Richard Burton
Modern Poetry

4. Make It Rhyme
In an exact rhyme, all sounds from the stressed vowel to the end of the word are repeated.
In an approximate rhyme, some sounds are repeated, but the words are not exact echoes of each other.
immersion—conversion
pleasure—treasure
sphere—revere
regularly—February
landing—scanning
song—gone

5. Make It Rhyme
Rhymes usually occur at the ends of lines. This type of rhyme is called end rhyme.
Golden pulse grew on the shore,
Ferns along the hill,
And the red cliff roses bore Bees to drink their fill;
—from “Golden Purse” by John Myers O’Hara

6. Make It Rhyme
When rhyme occurs within a line, it is called internal rhyme.
The Sun came up upon the left,
Out of the sea came he!
And he shone bright, and on the right
Went down into the sea.
— from “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

7. Make It Rhyme
A regular pattern of end rhyme, or rhyme scheme, defines the shape of a poem and holds it together.
Apple-green west and an orange bar,
And the crystal eye of a lone, one star . . .
And, “Child, take the shears and cut what you will,
Frost to-night—so clear and dead-still.”
—from “Frost To-Night” by Edith M. Thomas a a b b

8. Make It Rhyme Quick Check
Find the end rhymes in this excerpt, including approximate rhymes.
Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow—
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.
—from “A Dream within a Dream” by Edgar Allan Poe

9. Make It Rhyme Quick Check
Find the end rhymes in this excerpt, including approximate rhymes.
Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow—
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.
—from “A Dream within a Dream” by Edgar Allan Poe

10. Make It Rhyme Quick Check
Find the internal rhymes in this excerpt, including approximate rhymes.
Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow—
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.
—from “A Dream within a Dream” by Edgar Allan Poe
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11. Make It Rhyme Quick Check
Find the internal rhymes in this excerpt, including approximate rhymes.
Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow—
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.
—from “A Dream within a Dream” by Edgar Allan Poe

12. Rhythm and Meter Rhythm—musical quality based on repetition.
A common form of rhythm is meter, a regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in each line.
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills
—from “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by William Wordsworth

13. Rhythm and Meter Scanning a Poem’s Meter
When you analyze a poem to show its meter, you are scanning the poem. Scanning is a way of taking a poem apart to see how the poet has created its music.
Stressed syllables are marked with the symbol (′).
Unstressed syllables are marked the symbol (˘).

14. Rhythm and Meter
Foot—metrical unit, usually consisting of one stressed syllable and one or more unstressed syllables.
There are several different kinds of metrical feet.
Iamb—unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.
His hair is crisp, and black, and long,
—from “The Village Blacksmith” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ′ ˘

15. Rhythm and Meter
Trochee—stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable.
Week in, week out, from morn till night,
—from “The Village Blacksmith” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ′ ˘
Anapest—two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable.
And the muscles of his brawny arms
—from “The Village Blacksmith” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ′ ˘

16. Rhythm and Meter
Dactyl—one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables.
Singing in Paradise!
—from “The Village Blacksmith” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ′ ˘
Spondee—two stressed syllables.
Thanks, Thanks to thee, my worthy friend,
—from “The Village Blacksmith” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ′

17. Rhythm and Meter Quick Check
Which syllables are stressed in the first two lines?
Our little house upon the hill
In summer time strange voices fill;
With ceaseless rustle of the leaves,
And birds that twitter in the eaves,
And all the vines entangled so
The village lights no longer show.
—from “Our Little House” by Thomas Walsh
Now, scan the rest of the excerpt. What is the predominant type of foot?
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18. Rhythm and Meter ′ ′ ′ ′ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ′ ′ ′ ′ ′ ˘ ˘ ˘ Quick Check
Which syllables are stressed in the first two lines?
Our little house upon the hill
In summer time strange voices fill;
With ceaseless rustle of the leaves,
And birds that twitter in the eaves,
And all the vines entangled so
The village lights no longer show.
—Thomas Walsh, from “Our Little House” ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ′ ′ ′ ′ ′ ˘ ˘ ˘

19. Rhythm and Meter Quick Check
Now, scan the rest of the excerpt. What is the predominant type of foot?
Our little house upon the hill
In summer time strange voices fill;
With ceaseless rustle of the leaves,
And birds that twitter in the eaves,
And all the vines entangled so
The village lights no longer show.
—from “Our Little House” by Thomas Walsh ˘ ′ ˘ ′ ˘ ′ ˘ ′ ˘ ′ ˘ ′ ′ ′ ˘ ′ ˘ ′ ˘ ′ ˘ ˘ ˘ ′ ˘ ′ ˘ ′ ˘ ′ ˘ ′
iamb ˘ ′ ˘ ′ ˘ ′ ˘ ′ ˘ ′ ˘ ′ ˘ ′ ˘ ′

20. Free Verse
Free verse—poetry that does not follow a regular pattern of rhyme and meter.
This poetry gets bored of being alone,
It wants to go outdoors to chew on the winds,
to fill its commas with the keels of rowboats
—from “Living Poetry” by Hugo Margenat
Notice that free verse sounds similar to prose or to everyday spoken language.

21. Free Verse
Poets writing free verse may not follow formal rules, but they do pay close attention to
the rhythmic rise and fall of the voice
balance between long and short phrases
repetition of words and rhymes
pauses
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22. Sound Effects
In addition to rhythm and rhyme, poets also use onomatopoeia, alliteration, and assonance to give their poems a musical quality.
Onomatopoeia—use of words that sound like what they mean.
I am a copper wire slung in the air,
Slim against the sun I make not even a clear line of shadow.
Night and day I keep singing—humming and thrumming:
—from “Under a Telephone Pole” by Carl Sandburg

23. Sound Effects
Alliteration—repetition of the same consonant sound in several words, usually at the beginnings of the words.
A bird sang sweet and strong In the top of the highest tree. He said, “I pour out my heart in song For the summer that soon shall be.”
from “Spring Song” by George William Curtis

24. Sound Effects
Assonance—repetition of the same vowel sound in several words.
The baby moon, a canoe, a silver papoose canoe, sails and sails in the Indian west.
A ring of silver foxes, a mist of silver foxes, sit and sit around the Indian moon.
—from “Early Moon” by Carl Sandburg

25. Black riders came from the sea by Stephen Crane
Sound Effects
Quick Check
Black riders came from the sea by Stephen Crane
Black riders came from the sea. There was clang and clang of spear and shield, And clash and clash of roof and heel, Wild shouts and the wave of hair In the rush upon the wind: Thus the ride of Sin.
Find an example of each of type of sound effect:
Alliteration
Assonance
Onomatopoeia
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26. Black riders came from the sea by Stephen Crane
Sound Effects
Quick Check
Black riders came from the sea by Stephen Crane
Black riders came from the sea. There was clang and clang of spear and shield, And clash and clash of roof and heel, Wild shouts and the wave of hair In the rush upon the wind: Thus the ride of Sin.
Find an example of each of type of sound effect:
Alliteration
Assonance
Onomatopoeia

27. Practice Find elements of poetry in the real world.
List ten names. Identify the stressed and unstressed syllables. What “tunes” do the names make?
Find political slogans that use rhyme and alliteration.
Think of two exact rhymes and two approximate rhymes for ocean, wash, warm, beard, and power.
Describe the following scenes, using onomatopoeia:
a rainy, windy night
a cat eating dry cat food
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28. The End

29. Make It Rhyme Modern Poetry
Rhyme was once considered essential to poetry, but its use has become a matter of choice for poets today.
Modern poets who do use rhyme feel that it enhances the musical quality of their poetry.
Maya Angelou
Robert Frost

30. Make It Rhyme Approximate Rhyme
Approximate rhymes are also called half rhymes, off rhymes, slant rhymes, or imperfect rhymes.
Some poets use approximate rhymes because they feel all the exact rhymes have already been used.

31. Make It Rhyme Rhyme Scheme
Rhyme scheme is indicated by assigning a new letter of the alphabet for each new rhyme.
Seeing the snowman standing all alone
In dusk and cold is more than he can bear.
The small boy weeps to hear the wind prepare
A night of gnashings and enormous moan.
—from “Boy at the Window” by Richard Wilbur a b b a