{"id":37,"date":"2015-11-16T15:59:48","date_gmt":"2015-11-16T23:59:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.annhuang.com\/blog\/?p=37"},"modified":"2017-12-11T12:33:54","modified_gmt":"2017-12-11T20:33:54","slug":"an-in-depth-look-at-meter-rhyme-in-poetry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.annhuangpoetry.com\/blog\/2015\/11\/16\/an-in-depth-look-at-meter-rhyme-in-poetry\/","title":{"rendered":"An In-Depth Look at Meter & Rhyme in Poetry"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"poem\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Words in poems are like dancers; they have rhythm and movement. When you read the words aloud, the words might flow or bounce or halt based on how the poet arranges them. While this arrangement contributes to a poem\u2019s rhyme scheme and metric pattern, they also contribute to its meaning and tone. By understanding poetry rhyme and meter, you\u2019ll have better insight into what the poet communicates and the emotions expressed.<\/p>\n

Poetry Meter<\/h3>\n

A poem\u2019s metric pattern describes the arrangement of feet in a line. A foot is a group of syllables, the natural breaks in a word. To identify a poem\u2019s meter, you must first identify the feet. Types of feet include:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Iamb<\/strong>: An unaccented syllable followed by an accented syllable (e.g., the word \u201cdestroy\u201d)<\/p>\n

\u2022 Trochee<\/strong>: An accented syllable followed by an unaccented syllable (e.g., the word \u201cdouble\u201d)<\/p>\n

\u2022 Anapest<\/strong>: Two unaccented syllables and an accented syllable (e.g., the word \u201cintervene\u201d)<\/p>\n

\u2022 Dactyl<\/strong>: An accented syllable followed by two unaccented syllables (e.g., the word \u201cmerrily\u201d)<\/p>\n

\u2022 Spondee<\/strong>: Two consecutive accented syllables (e.g., the word \u201chum-drum\u201d)<\/p>\n

\u2022 Pyrrhic<\/strong>: Two consecutive unaccented syllables (e.g., the words \u201cto a\u201d)<\/p>\n

Identifying the meter in a poem requires identifying the type of line length, the number of feet in a line:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Monometer<\/strong>: A line with one foot<\/p>\n

\u2022 Dimeter<\/strong>: A line with two feet<\/p>\n

\u2022 Trimeter<\/strong>: A line with three feet<\/p>\n

\u2022 Tetrameter<\/strong>: A line with four feet<\/p>\n

\u2022 Pentameter<\/strong>: A line with five feet<\/p>\n

\u2022 Hexameter<\/strong>: A line with six feet<\/p>\n

\u2022 Alexandrine<\/strong> meter<\/strong>: A line with six iambic feet<\/p>\n

To determine the meter, combine the type of foot with the line length. Iambic pentameter, for examples, is a line with five iambic feet. Identifying a poem\u2019s meter helps determine the type of poem it is, such as a ballad, ode or sonnet. Knowing the poetic type, or form, gives you insight into its purpose and the emotions that the poet may express.<\/p>\n

Poetry Rhyme<\/h3>\n

The rhyme scheme in a poem is another tool used create or identify a poem\u2019s form. The scheme identifies which lines rhyme with each other using letters. Common rhyme schemes include:<\/p>\n

\u2022 ABAB<\/strong>: The first and third lines rhyme, and the second and fourth lines rhyme<\/p>\n

\u2022 XAXA<\/strong>: The second and fourth lines rhyme, but the first and third do not<\/p>\n

\u2022 AABB<\/strong>: The first and second lines rhyme and the third and fourth lines rhyme<\/p>\n

\u2022 AAAA<\/strong>: All the lines rhyme<\/p>\n

\u2022 AAXA or AXAA<\/strong>: All but one of the lines rhyme<\/p>\n

\u2022 ABBA<\/strong>: The first and last lines rhyme and the second and third lines rhyme<\/p>\n

\u2022 AXXA<\/strong>: The first and last lines rhyme, but the middle lines do not rhyme with each other<\/p>\n

Rhyme schemes may incorporate more letters as needed. A Shakespearean sonnet, for instance, uses the following rhyme scheme: ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG. The number of letters in each section tells the reader the number of lines in each stanza. In a Shakespearean sonnet, the last stanza has two lines.<\/p>\n

Some types of rhyme schemes have formal names, such as:<\/p>\n

\u2022 ABAB<\/strong>: Alternate rhyme<\/p>\n

\u2022 AABB\u2026<\/strong>: Couplet<\/p>\n

\u2022 AAABBB\u2026<\/strong>: Triplet<\/p>\n

\u2022 AAAA<\/strong>: Monorhyme<\/p>\n

\u2022 ABABBCBC, ABABBCBC, ABABBCBC, BCBC<\/strong>: Ballad<\/p>\n

\u2022 ABABB<\/strong>: Cinquian<\/p>\n

\u2022 AABB<\/strong>: Clerihew<\/p>\n

\u2022 ABBA<\/strong>: Enclosed<\/p>\n

\u2022 AABBA<\/strong>: Limerick<\/p>\n

\u2022 ABABABCC<\/strong>: Ottava rima<\/p>\n

\u2022 ABABBCC<\/strong>: Rhyme royal<\/p>\n

\u2022 AABA<\/strong>: Rubaiyat<\/p>\n

\u2022 ABA, BCB, CDC…<\/strong>: Terza rima<\/p>\n

In poetry, the elements within a work contribute to its tone and meaning, making the words multi-faceted. The next time you read a poem, study the rhyme and meter to see what new meanings jump out at you.<\/p>\n

[Photo from www.tOrange.biz Valdemar Fishmen<\/a> via CC License 2.0<\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Words in poems are like dancers; they have rhythm and movement. When you read the words aloud, the words might flow or bounce or halt based on how the poet arranges them. While this arrangement contributes to a poem\u2019s rhyme scheme and metric pattern, they also contribute to its meaning and tone. By understanding poetry […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,22,26],"tags":[31,3,7,39,9,5,6,8],"class_list":["post-37","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-experimental-poetry","category-poetry-language","category-poetry-translation","tag-ann-huang","tag-essential-poetry","tag-poetic-meter","tag-poetry","tag-poetry-class","tag-poetry-form","tag-poetry-structure","tag-rhyme-scheme"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.annhuangpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.annhuangpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.annhuangpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.annhuangpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.annhuangpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.annhuangpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":228,"href":"https:\/\/www.annhuangpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37\/revisions\/228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.annhuangpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.annhuangpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.annhuangpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}