Rhyme and Meter in Poetry Another Note Taking Adventure

Rhyme Scheme Some poems and poem types follow a rhythmic pattern called a rhyme scheme. Often, this occurs in the last word in each line of a stanza.

Rhyme Scheme example #1 Simple Rhyme Scheme A From Dream-Land By a route obscure and lonely, Haunted by ill angels only, Where an Eidolon, named Night On a black throne reign upright. ~Poe, Edgar Allen Rhyme Scheme A B

Rhyme Scheme Example #2 More Complex Rhyme Scheme From The New Colossus Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame With conquering limbs astride from land to land Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame ~Lazarus, Emma Rhyme Scheme A B

Do Now Read I Wandered As Lonely As A Cloud by William Wordsworth and In Between by P. Lord. Map out the rhyme schemes for each poem. Write the rhyme scheme in your journals.

Types of Rhyme Common Rhyme: (bat, hat) (Hair, Flair) (Portray, Convey) Internal Rhyme: These are rhymes within a line of poetry.

Internal Rhyme Example From The Raven Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary AA Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore- B While I nodded, nearly napping, Suddenly there came a tapping, CC As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. CCB ~Poe, Edgar Allen

Types of Rhyme Slant Rhyme: These are near rhymes used liberally or when no common rhyme can be formed.

Slant Rhyme Examples What is a slant rhyme for Orange … Door Hinge Vacuum … Ginger Bread… Finish these Typhoid… Hurricane… Garbage…

Slant Rhyme Examples #2 We were camped on the plains at the head of the Cimarron  When along came a stranger who stopped to arger some.  He looked so very foolish that we began to look around,  We thought he was a greenhorn that had just ’scaped from town. Spanish is the lovin’ tongue,           Soft as music, light as spray.           ’Twas a girl I learnt it from           Livin’ down Sonora way.           I don’t look much like a lover,           Yet I say her love words over           Often when I’m all alone—           “Mi amor, mi corazon.”  

Homework Create a rhyme scheme with at least four sets of rhymes. Write a poem using that rhyme scheme. This may be on any subject. Extra challenge: Try to incorporate all three types of rhyme in this poem.

Meter Meter in poetry is like a drumbeat in a song. It is the up and down rhythm created by syllables in a line of poetry.

Example of Meter Ex: Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers Question: Do you hear the up and down rhythm?

Do Now Write “Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers.” Draw an up arrow over where the meter/stress goes up and a down arrow below where it goes down.

Finished Example.

Finished Example Each arrow represents a syllable. There are 12 syllables altogether. The up arrow represents a “stressed” syllable and the down arrow an “unstressed syllable. Together they are called a “trochee”. The opposite of a trochee is an “iamb”

Example of what a trochee look like. Stress Unstress Poets represent stressed and unstressed syllables like this.

Shakespeare and Iambs Shakespeare is famous for using Iambs in his poetry. He used Iambic Pentameter almost exclusively. So what is Iambic pentameter? Lets break it down.

Iambic pentameter An iamb is an unstressed and a stressed syllable. Penta (like Pentagon) means five and meter is the rhythm. So Iambic pentameter means there will be five iambs per line of poetry (or 10 syllables).

Example of Iambic Pentameter From Sonnet 18

Syllabic Rhyme Some poets use meter as a form of rhyme. This helps trick the mind into anticipating the length of the next line of poetry.

Example of Syllabic rhyme MY SOUL IS DARK My soul is dark – Oh! quickly string And ach’d in sleepless silence long; The harp I yet can brook to hear; And now ‘tis doom’d to know the worst, And let thy gentle fingers fling And break at once – or yield to song. Its melting murmurs o’er mine ear. If in this heart a hope be dear, ~Lord Byron (1815) That sound shall charm it forth again: If in these eyes there lurk a tear, (All 8 Syllable Lines) ‘Twill flow, and cease to burn my brain. But bid the strains be wild and deep, Nor let thy notes of joy be first: I tell thee, minstrel, I must weep, Or else this heavy heart will burst; For it hath been by sorrow nursed,

Do Now Read I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud and In Between again, and find out what type of syllabic rhyme is used.

Homework Create a rhyming poem that has a working rhyme scheme, that also uses syllabic rhyme. Use one of these two patterns Meter (8,6) Rhyme Scheme(aabbccdd) OR Meter (Iambic Pentameter) Rhyme Scheme (ababcdcd)