Rhyme schemes and Usage

When poets and students mark a rhyme scheme, what do the letters (like A, B, and C) represent?

• The number of lines in each stanza

• Words at the end of lines that rhyme with each other

• The first letter of the first word in each line

• The number of syllables in each line

Answer explanation

Each letter is used to mark a new rhyming sound at the end of a line. All lines marked with the same letter have end words that rhyme.

What is the rhyme scheme of this stanza? The sun is high, up in the sky, A gentle breeze goes past, And fluffy clouds go drifting by, This day is built to last.

• AABB

• ABAB

• ABCB

• ABBA

Answer explanation

The first and third lines rhyme ('sky'/'by'), so they are both 'A'. The second and fourth lines rhyme ('past'/'last'), so they are both 'B'. This creates an ABAB pattern.

Match each poetry term to its correct description.

• A 14-line poem with a specific, formal rhyme scheme.

• Limerick

• Poetry that does not have a regular rhyme scheme or meter.

• Free Verse

• A funny 5-line poem with an AABBA rhyme scheme.

• Sonnet

Answer explanation

A limerick is a humorous AABBA poem. Free verse has no set rhyme rules. A sonnet is a structured 14-line poem.

In poetry, what is the term for two consecutive lines that rhyme and typically form a complete thought?

• A stanza

• A couplet

• A quatrain

• Free verse

Answer explanation

A couplet is a pair of successive lines of verse that rhyme and are usually of the same length. A stanza is a group of lines, a quatrain is a four-line stanza, and free verse is poetry that does not have a regular rhyme scheme.

Sort the following stanzas into the correct rhyme scheme category: AABB Pattern or ABCB Pattern.

Groups:

(a) AABB Pattern

,

(b) ABCB Pattern

• I saw a ship upon the sea, / It sailed along so fast, / It waved its pretty flag at me, / And then the ship was past.

• I have a little frog, / His eyes are green and bright, / He sits upon a log, / From morning until night.

• My dog is big and brown, / He loves to run and play, / He's the best friend in this town, / At the end of the day.

• The stars are bright tonight, / The moon is shining, too, / Everything feels so right, / My world is fresh and new.

Answer explanation

Stanzas with an AABB pattern have two consecutive rhyming lines (couplets). Stanzas with an ABCB pattern have rhymes only in the second and fourth lines.

Which line below correctly completes this stanza to create an AABA rhyme scheme? The rain begins to fall, It makes a gentle sound, The thunder starts to call, ____________________.

• And drips down to the ground.

• I'm safe inside the hall.

• The sky is dark and gray.

• I watch the lightning flash.

Answer explanation

To create an AABA rhyme scheme, the fourth line must rhyme with the first and second lines ('fall' and 'call'). The third line ('sound') is the 'B' rhyme. 'I'm safe inside the hall' completes the AABA pattern because 'hall' rhymes with 'fall' and 'call'.

Which of the following stanzas is an example of free verse because it has no clear rhyme scheme?

• The winter wind is cold and deep, / While all the world is fast asleep.

• The old tree stands on the hill, / its branches reach for the gray sky, / a silent witness to the passing clouds.

• I love to read a funny book, / It always makes me smile, / I'll sit and take a happy look, / And read for quite a while.

• The sun goes down, a ball of fire, / The birds all sing a sleepy tune, / My heart is filled with soft desire, / Beneath the silver moon.

Answer explanation

Free verse does not follow a set rhyme pattern. The words 'hill,' 'sky,' and 'clouds' do not rhyme, unlike the other options which have clear AABB or ABAB schemes.

Match each rhyme scheme notation to its common description.

• Alternating rhyme (every other line rhymes)

• ABAB

• Two rhyming couplets (two lines in a row rhyme)

• AABB

• Enclosed rhyme (the first and last lines rhyme)

• ABBA

Answer explanation

AABB describes two pairs of rhyming lines. ABAB describes a pattern where rhymes alternate. ABBA describes a pattern where the outer lines rhyme and the inner lines rhyme.

What is the rhyme scheme of this short poem? There once was a frog on a log Who was startled by a big dog. He jumped in the air, Without any care, And landed right in a bog.

• AABBA

• ABABA

• ABCBC

• AAAAA

Answer explanation

The first, second, and fifth lines rhyme ('log'/'dog'/'bog'), so they are 'A'. The third and fourth lines rhyme ('air'/'care'), so they are 'B'. This creates the AABBA pattern, which is typical of a limerick.

If a four-line stanza has an ABBA rhyme scheme, which lines rhyme with each other?

• The first and second lines; the third and fourth lines

• The first and third lines; the second and fourth lines

• The first and fourth lines; the second and third lines

• All four lines rhyme with each other

Answer explanation

In an ABBA scheme, the first line (A) rhymes with the fourth line (A), and the second line (B) rhymes with the third line (B). The 'B' rhymes are 'enclosed' by the 'A' rhymes.