Okuzeka
Literature vocabulary · Poetry

Rhyme scheme

Meaning in literature, with examples

nounCommon term

In literature, rhyme scheme means: The pattern of rhymes at the ends of lines in a poem or stanza, shown with letters, for example ABAB, where lines with the same letter rhyme.

In Turkish: uyak düzeni, kafiye şeması

How it is used

A standard step in poetry analysis: identify, mark or describe the rhyme scheme. A Shakespearean sonnet has the rhyme scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. Critics notice when a poem follows a strict rhyme scheme or breaks it for effect.

Example sentences

  1. The rhyme scheme is ABAB in every stanza except the last one.

  2. Mark the rhyme scheme with letters in the margin before you start your analysis.

Common collocations

  • identify the rhyme scheme
  • regular rhyme scheme
  • strict rhyme scheme
  • the rhyme scheme is ABAB
  • rhymeThe repetition of the same or similar sounds at the ends of words, especially at the ends of lines in a poem, as in 'night' and 'light'.
  • stanzaA group of lines in a poem, separated from other groups by a space, that works like a paragraph in prose.
  • sonnetA poem of fourteen lines with a fixed rhyme scheme, usually in iambic pentameter in English, often about love or a single strong feeling.
  • coupletA pair of consecutive lines of poetry, usually of the same length and rhyming with each other, that form a unit of meaning.

More terms: Poetry

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: