Rhyme Scheme (or Rhyme "Scream?")

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 lower case "a," the next variation by a "b," the third variation by a "c," and so on.

Below is an illustration of a common rhyme scheme for closed form poems written in quatrains (four-line stanzas).

(To see the web resource from which this illustration is drawn, go to http://www.millikin.edu/aci/crow/basics/frost3.html
"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening"
By Robert Frost (1874-1963, pictured above)

Whose woods these are I think I know. a

His house is in the village though; a

He will not see me stopping here b

To watch his woods fill up with snow. a

My little horse must think it queer b

To stop without a farmhouse near b

Between the woods and frozen lake c

The darkest evening of the year. b

He gives his harness bells a shake c

To ask if there is some mistake. c

The only other sound's the sweep d

Of easy wind and downy flake. c

The woods are lovely, dark and deep, d

But I have promises to keep, d

And miles to go before I sleep. d

And miles to go before I sleep. d

Hence, the rhyme scheme is: aaba bbcb ccdc dddd

Last modified Nov, 1999 by M. O'Conner at http://www.millikin.edu/aci/crow/basics/frost3.html

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