A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhymes at the end of each line of a poem or song. It is usually referred to by using letters to indicate which lines rhyme; lines designated with the same letter all rhyme with each other.
An example of the ABAB rhyming scheme, from "To Anthea, who may Command him Anything", by Robert Herrick:
These rhyme patterns have various effects, and can be used to:
Control flow: If every line has the same rhyme (AAAA), the stanza will read as having a very quick flow, whereas a rhyme scheme like ABCABC can be felt to unfold more slowly.
Structure a poem's message and thought patterns: For example, a simple couplet with a rhyme scheme of AABB lends itself to simpler direct ideas, because the resolution comes in the very next line. Essentially these couplets can be thought of as self-contained statements. This idea of rhyme schemes reflecting thought processes is often discussed particularly regarding sonnets.
Determine whether a stanza is balanced or unbalanced.
Help to reinforce the feeling being expressed: If the writer wants to express stubbornness, they may use tight structured rhyme schemes, whereas if one was writing about feeling lost, then perhaps the stanza would only have one rhyme (XXAXXXA).
A basic distinction is between rhyme schemes that apply to a single stanza, and those that continue their pattern throughout an entire poem (see chain rhyme). There are also more elaborate related forms, like the sestina – which requires repetition of exact words in a complex pattern. Rhyming is not a mandatory feature of poetry; a four-line stanza with non-rhyming lines could be described as using the scheme ABCD.
Notation and examplesedit
Notation used below:
ABAB – Four-line stanza, first and third lines rhyme at the end, second and fourth lines rhyme at the end.
AB AB – Two two-line stanzas, with the first lines rhyming at the end and the second lines rhyming at the end.
AB,AB – Single two-line stanza, with the two lines having both a single internal rhyme and a conventional rhyme at the end.
aBaB – Two different possible meanings for a four-line stanza:
First and third lines rhyme at the end, second and fourth lines are repeated verbatim.
A1abA2 A1abA2 – Two stanzas, where the first lines of both stanzas are exactly the same, and the last lines of both stanzas are the same. The second lines of the two stanzas are different, but rhyme at the end with the first and last lines. (In other words, all the "A" and "a" lines rhyme with each other, but not with the "b" lines.)
XAXA – Four lines, two unrhymed (X) and two with the same end rhyme (A)
Other notation examples:
Indicating the number of stressed syllables in certain lines: AA4B2CC4 or AA4B2CC4
Some publications use lowercase or have punctuation to separate lines or stanzas, e.g. abba cdcd or a-b-b-a,c-d-c-d. (These variations are not used elsewhere in this article, for clarity.)
Notable rhyme schemes and forms that use specific rhyme schemes:
A quatrain is any four-line stanza or poem. There are 15 possible rhyme sequences for a four-line poem; common rhyme schemes for these include AAAA, AABB, ABAB, ABBA, and ABCB.[citation needed]
"The Raven" stanza: ABCBBB, or AA,B,CC,CB,B,B when accounting for internal rhyme, as used by Edgar Allan Poe in his poem "The Raven"
Sestina: ABCDEF FAEBDC CFDABE ECBFAD DEACFB BDFECA, the seventh stanza is a tercet where line 1 has A in it but ends with D, line 2 has B in it but ends with E, line 3 has C in it but ends with F
Sestuplo-nel-quintetto: Any quantity of stanzas of AABCCB, occasionally followed by either a repeating pattern of BCCB, or AA, plainly.[citation needed]
Terza rima: ABA BCB CDC ..., ending on YZY Z; YZY ZZ; or YZY ZYZ
A tristich or tercet is any three-line stanza or poem; common rhyme schemes for these are AAA (triplet) and ABA (enclosed tercet). The only other possibilities for three-line poems are AAB, ABB, and ABC. Multiple tercets can be combined into longer poems, as in the terza rima form.
Couplets are the most common type of rhyme scheme in old school rap[9] and are still regularly used,[4] though complex rhyme schemes have progressively become more frequent.[10][11] Rather than relying on end rhymes, rap rhyme schemes can have rhymes placed anywhere in the bars of music to create a structure.[12] There can also be numerous rhythmic elements which all work together in the same scheme[13] – this is called internal rhyme in traditional poetry,[14] though rap rhymes schemes can be anywhere in the bar, they could all be internal, so the term is not always used.[13] Rap verses can also employ 'extra rhymes', which do not structure the verse like the main rhyme schemes, but which add to the overall sound of the verse.[15]
Number of rhyme schemes for a poem with n linesedit
The number of different possible rhyme schemes for an n-line poem is given by the Bell numbers,[16] which for n = 1, 2, 3, ... are
1, 2, 5, 15, 52, 203, 877, 4140, 21147, 115975, .. (sequence A000110 in the OEIS).
Examples: We find one rhyme scheme for a one-line poem (A), two different rhyme schemes for a two-line poem (AA, AB), and five for a three-line poem: AAA, AAB, ABA, ABB, and ABC.
These counts, however, include rhyme schemes in which rhyme is not employed at all (ABCD). There are many fewer rhyme schemes when all lines must rhyme with at least one other line; a count of these is given by the numbers,
0, 1, 1, 4, 11, 41, 162, 715, 3425, 17722, ... (sequence A000296 in the OEIS).
For example, for a three-line poem, there is only one rhyming scheme in which every line rhymes with at least one other (AAA), while for a four-line poem, there are four such schemes (AABB, ABAB, ABBA, and AAAA).
^Edwards, Paul, 2009, How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC, Chicago Review Press, p. 95–110.
^ abEdwards, Paul, 2009, How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC, Chicago Review Press, p. 99.
^Edwards, Paul, 2009, How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC, Chicago Review Press, p. 100.
^Edwards, Paul, 2009, How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC, Chicago Review Press, p. 101.
^Edwards, Paul, 2009, How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC, Chicago Review Press, p. 101–102.
^Edwards, Paul, 2009, How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC, Chicago Review Press, p. 102–103.
^Bradley, Adam, 2009, Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip-Hop, Basic Civitas Books, p. 50.
^Edwards, Paul, 2009, How to Rap Like A Star: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC, Chicago Review Press, p. 97.
^Bradley, Adam, 2009, Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip-Hop, Basic Civitas Books, p. 73.
^Edwards, Paul, 2009, How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC, Chicago Review Press, p. 107.
^ abEdwards, Paul, 2009, How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC, Chicago Review Press, p. 104.
^Bradley, Adam, 2009, Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip-Hop, Basic Civitas Books, p. 74.
^Edwards, Paul, 2009, How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC, Chicago Review Press, p. 103.
^Gardner, Martin (1978), "The Bells: versatile numbers that can count partitions of a set, primes and even rhymes", Scientific American, 238: 24–30, doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0578-24. Reprinted with an addendum as "The Tinkly Temple Bells", Chapter 2 of Fractal Music, Hypercards, and more ... Mathematical Recreations from Scientific American, W. H. Freeman, 1992, pp. 24–38.
External linksedit
Learning materials related to Rhyme schemes by set partition at Wikiversity
November 25, 2023
rhyme, scheme, rhyme, scheme, pattern, rhymes, each, line, poem, song, usually, referred, using, letters, indicate, which, lines, rhyme, lines, designated, with, same, letter, rhyme, with, each, other, example, abab, rhyming, scheme, from, anthea, command, any. A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhymes at the end of each line of a poem or song It is usually referred to by using letters to indicate which lines rhyme lines designated with the same letter all rhyme with each other An example of the ABAB rhyming scheme from To Anthea who may Command him Anything by Robert Herrick Bid me to weep and I will weep AWhile I have eyes to see BAnd having none yet I will keep AA heart to weep for thee BContents 1 Function in writing 2 Notation and examples 3 In hip hop music 4 Number of rhyme schemes for a poem with n lines 5 References 6 External linksFunction in writing editThese rhyme patterns have various effects and can be used to Control flow If every line has the same rhyme AAAA the stanza will read as having a very quick flow whereas a rhyme scheme like ABCABC can be felt to unfold more slowly Structure a poem s message and thought patterns For example a simple couplet with a rhyme scheme of AABB lends itself to simpler direct ideas because the resolution comes in the very next line Essentially these couplets can be thought of as self contained statements This idea of rhyme schemes reflecting thought processes is often discussed particularly regarding sonnets Determine whether a stanza is balanced or unbalanced Help to reinforce the feeling being expressed If the writer wants to express stubbornness they may use tight structured rhyme schemes whereas if one was writing about feeling lost then perhaps the stanza would only have one rhyme XXAXXXA A basic distinction is between rhyme schemes that apply to a single stanza and those that continue their pattern throughout an entire poem see chain rhyme There are also more elaborate related forms like the sestina which requires repetition of exact words in a complex pattern Rhyming is not a mandatory feature of poetry a four line stanza with non rhyming lines could be described as using the scheme ABCD Notation and examples editNotation used below ABAB Four line stanza first and third lines rhyme at the end second and fourth lines rhyme at the end AB AB Two two line stanzas with the first lines rhyming at the end and the second lines rhyming at the end AB AB Single two line stanza with the two lines having both a single internal rhyme and a conventional rhyme at the end aBaB Two different possible meanings for a four line stanza First and third lines rhyme at the end second and fourth lines are repeated verbatim First and third lines have a feminine rhyme and the second and fourth lines have a masculine rhyme A1abA2 A1abA2 Two stanzas where the first lines of both stanzas are exactly the same and the last lines of both stanzas are the same The second lines of the two stanzas are different but rhyme at the end with the first and last lines In other words all the A and a lines rhyme with each other but not with the b lines XAXA Four lines two unrhymed X and two with the same end rhyme A Other notation examples Indicating the number of stressed syllables in certain lines AA4B2CC4 or AA4B2CC4 Some publications use lowercase or have punctuation to separate lines or stanzas e g abba cdcd or a b b a c d c d These variations are not used elsewhere in this article for clarity Notable rhyme schemes and forms that use specific rhyme schemes Ballad stanza ABCB Ballade Three stanzas of ABABBCBC followed by BCBC Balliol rhyme AABB Boy Named Sue AABCC B or infrequently D Bref double AXBC XAXC AXAB AB and other schemes where X represents unrhymed lines Burns stanza AAABAB B or AABCCCB Canopus 1 ABABCBC Chant royal Five stanzas of ababccddedE followed by either ddedE or ccddedE capital letters represent lines repeated verbatim Chastushka ABAB ABCB or AABB Cinquain ABABB citation needed Clerihew AABB Couplet AA but usually occurs as AA BB CC DD Decima ABBAACCDDC Double dactyl XXXA XXXA Enclosed rhyme or enclosing rhyme ABBA Englyn complex structure Fire and Ice stanza ABAABCBCB as used in Robert Frost s poem Fire and Ice Keatsian Ode ABABCDECDE used in Keats Ode on Indolence Ode on a Grecian Urn and Ode to a Nightingale Klin complex structure Limerick AABBA Mani AABA Monorhyme AAAAA an identical rhyme on every line common in Latin and Arabic Octave ABBA ABBA Onegin stanzas aBaBccDDeFFeGG with the lowercase letters representing feminine rhymes and the uppercase representing masculine rhymes written in iambic tetrameter Ottava rima ABABABCC A quatrain is any four line stanza or poem There are 15 possible rhyme sequences for a four line poem common rhyme schemes for these include AAAA AABB ABAB ABBA and ABCB citation needed The Raven stanza ABCBBB or AA B CC CB B B when accounting for internal rhyme as used by Edgar Allan Poe in his poem The Raven Rhyme royal ABABBCC The Road Not Taken stanza ABAAB as used in Robert Frost s poem The Road Not Taken and in Glaede over Danmark by Poul Martin Moller 2 Rondeau ABaAabAB capital letters represent lines repeated verbatim Rondelet AbAabbA capital letters represent lines repeated verbatim Roundel abaB bab abaB capital letters represent lines repeated verbatim Rubaiyat AABA or AAAA Sapphic stanza in Polish poetry various Scottish stanza AAABAB as used by Robert Burns in works such as To a Mouse Sestain AABBCC ABABCC AABCCB AAABAB and others Sestet various schemes depending on the country Sestina ABCDEF FAEBDC CFDABE ECBFAD DEACFB BDFECA the seventh stanza is a tercet where line 1 has A in it but ends with D line 2 has B in it but ends with E line 3 has C in it but ends with F Sestuplo nel quintetto Any quantity of stanzas of AABCCB occasionally followed by either a repeating pattern of BCCB or AA plainly citation needed Sicilian octave ABABABAB Simple 4 line ABCB Sonnet 14 lines 4 4 3 3 lines Petrarchan sonnet ABBA ABBA CDE CDE or ABBA ABBA CDC DCD 4 4 4 2 lines Shakespearean sonnet ABAB CDCD EFEF GG Spenserian sonnet ABAB BCBC CDCD EE Spenserian stanza ABABBCBCC where the last line is an alexandrine line Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening form AABA BBCB CCDC DDDD a modified Ruba i stanza used by Robert Frost for the eponymous poem Tail rhyme B lines appear intermittently Tanaga traditional Tagalog tanaga is AABB Terza rima ABA BCB CDC ending on YZY Z YZY ZZ or YZY ZYZ A tristich or tercet is any three line stanza or poem common rhyme schemes for these are AAA triplet and ABA enclosed tercet The only other possibilities for three line poems are AAB ABB and ABC Multiple tercets can be combined into longer poems as in the terza rima form Traditional rhyme ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH Triolet ABaAabAB and others capital letters represent lines repeated verbatim Triplet AAA often repeating such as AAA BBB CCC DDD Trova XAXA Villanelle A1bA2 abA1 abA2 abA1 abA2 abA1A2 where A1 and A2 are lines repeated exactly which rhyme with the a linesIn hip hop music editHip hop music and rapping s rhyme schemes include traditional schemes such as couplets as well as forms specific to the genre 3 which are broken down extensively in the books How to Rap and Book of Rhymes Rhyme schemes used in hip hop music include Couplets 4 Single liners 5 Multi liners 6 Combinations of schemes 7 Whole verse 8 Couplets are the most common type of rhyme scheme in old school rap 9 and are still regularly used 4 though complex rhyme schemes have progressively become more frequent 10 11 Rather than relying on end rhymes rap rhyme schemes can have rhymes placed anywhere in the bars of music to create a structure 12 There can also be numerous rhythmic elements which all work together in the same scheme 13 this is called internal rhyme in traditional poetry 14 though rap rhymes schemes can be anywhere in the bar they could all be internal so the term is not always used 13 Rap verses can also employ extra rhymes which do not structure the verse like the main rhyme schemes but which add to the overall sound of the verse 15 Number of rhyme schemes for a poem with n lines edit nbsp Tale of Genji chapter symbols including diagrams of the first 52 set partitionsThe number of different possible rhyme schemes for an n line poem is given by the Bell numbers 16 which for n 1 2 3 are 1 2 5 15 52 203 877 4140 21147 115975 sequence A000110 in the OEIS Examples We find one rhyme scheme for a one line poem A two different rhyme schemes for a two line poem AA AB and five for a three line poem AAA AAB ABA ABB and ABC These counts however include rhyme schemes in which rhyme is not employed at all ABCD There are many fewer rhyme schemes when all lines must rhyme with at least one other line a count of these is given by the numbers 0 1 1 4 11 41 162 715 3425 17722 sequence A000296 in the OEIS For example for a three line poem there is only one rhyming scheme in which every line rhymes with at least one other AAA while for a four line poem there are four such schemes AABB ABAB ABBA and AAAA References edit ababcbc Poetry Forms poetscollective org Retrieved 2017 11 15 Glaede over Danmark English translation Edwards Paul 2009 How to Rap The Art amp Science of the Hip Hop MC Chicago Review Press p 95 110 a b Edwards Paul 2009 How to Rap The Art amp Science of the Hip Hop MC Chicago Review Press p 99 Edwards Paul 2009 How to Rap The Art amp Science of the Hip Hop MC Chicago Review Press p 100 Edwards Paul 2009 How to Rap The Art amp Science of the Hip Hop MC Chicago Review Press p 101 Edwards Paul 2009 How to Rap The Art amp Science of the Hip Hop MC Chicago Review Press p 101 102 Edwards Paul 2009 How to Rap The Art amp Science of the Hip Hop MC Chicago Review Press p 102 103 Bradley Adam 2009 Book of Rhymes The Poetics of Hip Hop Basic Civitas Books p 50 Edwards Paul 2009 How to Rap Like A Star The Art amp Science of the Hip Hop MC Chicago Review Press p 97 Bradley Adam 2009 Book of Rhymes The Poetics of Hip Hop Basic Civitas Books p 73 Edwards Paul 2009 How to Rap The Art amp Science of the Hip Hop MC Chicago Review Press p 107 a b Edwards Paul 2009 How to Rap The Art amp Science of the Hip Hop MC Chicago Review Press p 104 Bradley Adam 2009 Book of Rhymes The Poetics of Hip Hop Basic Civitas Books p 74 Edwards Paul 2009 How to Rap The Art amp Science of the Hip Hop MC Chicago Review Press p 103 Gardner Martin 1978 The Bells versatile numbers that can count partitions of a set primes and even rhymes Scientific American 238 24 30 doi 10 1038 scientificamerican0578 24 Reprinted with an addendum as The Tinkly Temple Bells Chapter 2 of Fractal Music Hypercards and more Mathematical Recreations from Scientific American W H Freeman 1992 pp 24 38 External links edit nbsp Learning materials related to Rhyme schemes by set partition at Wikiversity Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Rhyme scheme amp oldid 1181540466, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
