(IC) Lesson Topic 2: Rhyme

Lesson Topic 2: Rhyme

An antique greeting card is illustrated with roses and violets. There is a poem:

The rose is red,
The violet's blue,
Sugar is sweet,
And so are you. Rhyme refers to the repetition of similar sounds occurring at determined, or regular, intervals. We hear rhyme all around us. The cat sat on the mat. Cat, sat, and mat are rhyming words.

Rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhymed words. Stanzas are often linked by their rhyme scheme. Rhyme scheme is the exact correspondence of rhyming sounds at the end of each line of poetry, identified by the first end rhyme represented by a lowercase "a," the next variation by a "b," the third variation by a "c," and so on. Look at the example to get a better understanding.

Let's work through the rhyme scheme of these poems.

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

Sugar is sweet,

And so are you.

We will start with the last word of each line.

Red

Blue

Sweet

You

Since red is the last word of the first line it will be labeled "a." The last word of the first line is always labeled a.

Red a

Now we have to see if the next last word rhymes with red. Does blue rhyme with red? No. So we label it b.

Red a

Blue b

Now we do the same for the next word- sweet- does it rhyme with either of the other two? No. So we label it c.

Now try again with the last word of the poem. Does the word You rhyme with any of the other last words? It rhymes with blue, so we will label it b. Because blue and you rhyme, they must have the same label or letter.

Here is what the final rhyme scheme for this poem looks like.

Roses are red a

Violets are blue b

Sugar is sweet, c

And so are you. b

The rhyme scheme is abcb.

[CC BY 4.0] UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED | IMAGES: LICENSED AND USED ACCORDING TO TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION