English 9 / Unit 4: Figurative Language and Poetry
4.4 Rhyme Scheme and Meter
Notes
Rhyme scheme is the pattern of end rhymes, labeled with letters. Meter is the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables.
- Label each new end sound with the next letter: lines ending day, night, way, light = ABAB.
- A foot is one unit of meter. An iamb is unstressed then stressed (da-DUM), as in "a-WAY."
- Iambic pentameter: five iambs per line, 10 syllables. Shakespeare: "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" (10 syllables, stress on every second one).
- Tetrameter = four feet per line. Free verse has no regular rhyme or meter.
- Example: Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" (1923) has stanzas rhymed AABA: know, though, here, snow.
Practice
What is the rhyme scheme of these lines? "The cat sat by the door / The dog lay on the floor / The bird began to sing / Of sunshine and of spring"
door/floor rhyme (AA), sing/spring rhyme (BB).
How many syllables are in a regular line of iambic pentameter?
Five feet, each with two syllables.
A poem has no regular rhyme scheme and no set meter. It is written in:
Free verse lacks a fixed pattern.
Ready for more? Take the Unit 4 test.