What is a rhyme scheme?
Q: What is a rhyme scheme?
A: A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhyme between lines of a poem or song. It is usually indicated by letters to show which lines rhyme with each other.
Q: What are some common basic rhyme schemes?
A: Common basic rhyme schemes include AA, AAA, AABB, ABAB and ABBA.
Q: Are there more complicated schemes?
A: Yes, there are more complicated schemes such as ABABBCC (rhyme royal), ABABABCC (ottava rima) or ABABBBCBCC (Spenserian stanza).
Q: How do sonnets have different rhyme schemes?
A: Sonnets can have very different rhymes depending on the language they are written in. For example, Italian sonnets typically have an ABBA ABBA CDC DCD, ABBA ABBA CDE CDE, or ABBA ABBA CDE EDC scheme while French sonnets use an ABBA ABBA CDCD EE scheme and Spenserian and Shakesperian sonnets use an AABB BCBC CDCD EE and AABB CDCD EFEF GG scheme respectively.
Q: What is internal rhyming?
A: Internal rhymes occur when two words within the same line of poetry share a similar sound. This can be done through alliteration where words that begin with the same sound are used together or through assonance where words that contain similar vowel sounds appear together.
Q: Is there any particular type of poem that has a preferred rhyme scheme?
A: Yes, certain poets may prefer certain types of poems for their works or certain periods in time may favor specific types of poetry with particular patterns of rhymes. For example, Robert Burns preferred the AAAABB pattern while Rhyme Royal was popular during medieval English poetry and Ottava Rima was typical for epic poems written in Italian Spanish or Portuguese languages.
