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Literature vocabulary · Poetry

Rhyme royal

Meaning in literature, with examples

nounAdvanced term

In literature, rhyme royal means: A seven-line stanza rhyming ABABBCC, usually in iambic pentameter in English.

In Turkish: rhyme royal, yedi dizelik uyaklı bent

How it is used

Use to name the whole stanza pattern, including its seven lines and closing couplet.

Example sentences

  1. The rhyme royal stanza closes the complaint with two firmly rhyming lines.

    The closing couplet gives the complaint a sense of completion.

  2. Our draft failed as rhyme royal because its fifth line introduced a new rhyme sound.

    The fifth line should continue the B rhyme in this pattern.

Common collocations

  • a rhyme royal stanza
  • compose in rhyme royal
  • stanzaA group of lines in a poem, separated from other groups by a space, that works like a paragraph in prose.
  • iambic pentameterA line of poetry made of five iambs, each an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one, giving ten syllables: da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM.

More terms: Poetry

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