Rhyme and Meter

1. Rhyme

Meaning The repetition of similar sounds

The sounds are not always exactly the same The spelling does not have to be the same

Example Thinking , linking Bake, cake Frog, hog High, sky Mean, fine

2. Exact Rhyme

MeaningWhen the sounds that rhyme are exactly the same

sounds.

ExampleHat, catFree, bee

Exactly the same sounds.

3. Approximate Rhyme / Half Rhyme

MeaningWhen the words repeat some sounds, but are not

exact echoes

ExampleMean, fineRate, betLife, dieBeef, streets

Sounds are similar, but not exact

4. End Rhymes

MeaningWhen the rhymes come at the end of the lines

ExampleWhere in this book

do you think I should look?

Every day I look at the sky.

I think of my life and ask myself why.

5. Internal RhymesMeaning

Rhymes that occur within a line of poetry

Example I set my hat on the mat I was a fool who skipped school

6. Rhyme SchemeMeaning

A regular pattern of rhymeLetters are used to represent like sounds

Example ABAB =

Riches I hold in light esteem,

And Love I laugh to scorn;

And lust of Fame was but a dream

That vanished with the morn -

AAAA

AAAA

BABA

BABA

7. MeterMeaning

The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry as expressed by syllabication.

Syllabication is the use of stressed and unstressed markings.

8. Foot/FeetMeaning

A “foot” is the combination of stressed and unstressed syllables that make up a recurrent metric unit of a line.

Example

9. Scanning

We “scan” a poem to determine its basic meter and to consider the relevance of that rhythm to the meaning of the poem.

When we scan a poem, we begin by saying the poetic lines aloud, paying careful attention to the syllables which seem to be stressed (pronounced with more emphasis).

10. Iambs

This pattern of ~ / (unstressed/stressed) is called an iamb.

The following are examples of iambic feet.

Other PatternsAlong with the iamb, there are other possible

patterns:

Pattern Noun Adjective

~ / iamb iambic

~ ~ / anapest anapestic

/ ~ trochee trochaic

/ ~ ~ dactyl dactylic

/ / spondee spondaic