C1: Poetry - ABAB Rhyme Scheme

Below is a C1 level English lesson related to poetry and the ABAB rhyme scheme. Good luck and enjoy!

Vocabulary

- Stanza ---> a group of lines of poetry forming a unit

Compare

- Quatrains ---> a group of four lines in a poem

- Charter'd ---> In the context of William Blake's poem "London," "charter'd" means controlled, restricted, and owned, not freely flowing, but rather legally defined and marked out by a charter. The word carries multiple layers of meaning, suggesting that the streets and the River Thames are both mapped and regulated by commercial and governmental powers, reflecting the loss of freedom and pervasive oppression experienced by the city's inhabitants.

- Woe ---> big problems or troubles:

economic woes The country has been beset by economic woes for the past decade.

- Mind-forg'd ---> "Mind-forg'd" is an archaic phrase meaning formed or created by the mind, rather than by physical means, and it is most famously used in William Blake's poem "London" to describe self-imposed or societal limitations. These "mind-forg'd manacles" are metaphorical chains that restrict a person's freedom, arising from their own thoughts, beliefs, fears, and societal pressures

- Manacles ---> one of two metal bands joined by a chain, for fastening a person's hands or ankles.

"the practice of keeping prisoners in manacles"

- Appalls ---> greatly dismay or horrify.

"bankers are appalled at the economic incompetence of some ministers"

- Hapless ---> unlucky and usually unhappy:

hapless victim Many children are hapless victims of this war.

- Harlots ---> a female prostitute

Synonyms

tart (WOMAN)

working girl old-fashioned informal

- Blights ---> In William Blake's poem "London," "blights" means to spoil, infect, or destroy, referring to how social and moral corruption, symbolized by the "harlot's curse," spoils the institution of marriage and destroys the innocence of newborns. The word is used in the line "And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse," suggesting that marriage in the poem's depicted London is no longer a source of life and love, but a conduit for disease and death

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What is the ABAB Rhyme Scheme?

An ABAB rhyme scheme is an alternating pattern of rhymes in poetry where the first and third lines of a stanza rhyme with each other, and the second and fourth lines rhyme with each other. This pattern is also known as alternating rhyme. For example, if the last word of the first line is "day," the third line would also end with a word that rhymes with "day" (e.g., "say"), while the second and fourth lines would contain different rhyming words, such as "light" and "night"

Line 1 (A): A word that sets a rhyming sound

Line 2 (B): A word that introduces a new rhyming sound

Line 3 (A): A word that rhymes with the word in the first line

Line 4 (B): A word that rhymes with the word in the second line

Example:

Consider this stanza, where the rhyming words are bolded

"Out of the night that covers me, (A)

Black as the pit from pole to pole, (B)

I thank whatever gods may be. (A)

For my unconquerable soul. (B)"

In this example, "night" and "be" rhyme (A), and "pole" and "soul" rhyme (B), creating an ABAB pattern

Alternating Rhythm: The ABAB pattern is also called an alternating rhyme because the rhymes alternate

Common in Quatrains: It is often found in four-line stanzas, called quatrains

Found in Various Forms: The ABAB rhyme scheme is used in both poetry and songwriting and can repeat throughout a poem or change between stanzas.

Examples of the ABAB Rhyme Scheme

- Shakespeare's Sonnet 18 ("Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?"), Sonnet 130 ("My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun"), Sonnet 116 ("Let me not to the marriage of true minds"), and Sonnet 73 ("That time of year thou mayst in me behold" ---> All four of these sonnets are believed to have been written around the 1590s due to the theaters closing due to the plague hence the reason it is believed that Shakespeare shifted from writing plays to sonnets.

- William Blake's "London" (1794)

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ABAB Rhyme Scheme Review

An ABAB rhyme scheme, also known as an alternating rhyme, is a four-line poetic stanza where the first and third lines rhyme with each other, and the second and fourth lines rhyme with each other. This pattern creates a sense of fluid, back-and-forth rhythm for the reader

In an ABAB stanza, the assigned letters denote which lines rhyme:

The first line's end word is designated "A."

The second line's end word is a new rhyme, designated "B."

The third line's end word rhymes with the first, so it is designated "A".

The fourth line's end word rhymes with the second, so it is designated "B."

More ABAB rhyme scheme examples

A simple, classic example of an ABAB rhyme scheme is found in the nursery rhyme "Pease Porridge Hot".

"Pease Porridge hot" (A)

"Pease Porridge cold" (B)

"Pease Porridge in the pot" (A)

"Nine days old" (B)

The Effects of an ABAB Scheme

Poets may use this rhyme scheme to achieve a variety of effects

Creating a rhythm: The pattern can create a regular, melodic feel, similar to music

Showing conflict: The alternating rhymes can establish a sense of conflict or challenge between two ideas

Adding stability: The clear, organized pattern of alternating rhymes can create a feeling of certainty or confidence, which can reinforce the poem's themes

Mirroring movement: In William Blake's poem "London," the ABAB rhyme scheme can be interpreted as mimicking the narrator's footsteps as they walk through the city, emphasizing the constant suffering they observe

Vocabulary for "London" a poem by William Blake,
published in the Songs of Experience in 1794.

- Charter'd ---> In the context of William Blake's poem "London," "charter'd" means controlled, restricted, and owned, not freely flowing, but rather legally defined and marked out by a charter. The word carries multiple layers of meaning, suggesting that the streets and the River Thames are both mapped and regulated by commercial and governmental powers, reflecting the loss of freedom and pervasive oppression experienced by the city's inhabitants.

- Woe ---> big problems or troubles:

economic woes The country has been beset by economic woes for the past decade.

- Mind-forg'd ---> "Mind-forg'd" is an archaic phrase meaning formed or created by the mind, rather than by physical means, and it is most famously used in William Blake's poem "London" to describe self-imposed or societal limitations. These "mind-forg'd manacles" are metaphorical chains that restrict a person's freedom, arising from their own thoughts, beliefs, fears, and societal pressures

- Manacles ---> one of two metal bands joined by a chain, for fastening a person's hands or ankles.

"the practice of keeping prisoners in manacles"

- Appalls ---> greatly dismay or horrify.

"bankers are appalled at the economic incompetence of some ministers"

- Hapless ---> unlucky and usually unhappy:

hapless victim Many children are hapless victims of this war.

- Harlots ---> a female prostitute

Synonyms

tart (WOMAN)

working girl old-fashioned informal

- Blights ---> In William Blake's poem "London," "blights" means to spoil, infect, or destroy, referring to how social and moral corruption, symbolized by the "harlot's curse," spoils the institution of marriage and destroys the innocence of newborns. The word is used in the line "And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse," suggesting that marriage in the poem's depicted London is no longer a source of life and love, but a conduit for disease and death

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London

By William Blake

I wander thro' each charter'd street,

Near where the charter'd Thames does flow.

And mark in every face I meet

Marks of weakness, marks of woe.

In every cry of every Man,

In every Infants cry of fear,

In every voice: in every ban,

The mind-forg'd manacles I hear

How the Chimney-sweepers cry

Every blackning Church appalls,

And the hapless Soldiers sigh

Runs in blood down Palace walls

But most thro' midnight streets I hear

How the youthful Harlots curse

Blasts the new-born Infants tear

And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse

Use in more complex forms

The ABAB structure is often used for each quatrain (four-line stanza) within more complex poetic forms.

Shakespearean Sonnet: In a Shakespearean sonnet, the full rhyme scheme is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. This means the first three quatrains have alternating rhymes, followed by a final rhyming couplet

Ballads: Many ballads also use an alternating rhyme, often with an ABCB scheme. In a classic ballad stanza, the rhyme on the second and fourth lines ties the stanza together

Shakespearian Examples

Many of William Shakespeare's sonnets provide excellent examples of the ABAB rhyme scheme, as the first twelve lines of his sonnets are structured as three separate ABAB quatrains

Shakespeare's sonnets often use the ABAB rhyme scheme in their quatrains. Examples include Sonnet 18 ("Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?"), Sonnet 130 ("My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun"), Sonnet 116 ("Let me not to the marriage of true minds"), and Sonnet 73 ("That time of year thou mayst in me behold")

The ABAB pattern can be identified by looking at the last word of each line in a four-line stanza. The first and third lines rhyme, and the second and fourth lines rhyme. Some words that rhymed in Shakespeare's time might sound like slant rhymes today because of pronunciation changes. For more examples and analysis, you can refer to study.com and yourdictionary.com

Here's a breakdown of the time frame of when it is believed that Shakspeare wrote his sonnets.

Likely written: In the 1590s.

Theaters closed: In 1593 due to the Bubonic Plague, a period during which Shakespeare focused on writing sonnets.
Published: In 1609 by Thomas Thorpe in the collection titled Shakespeare's Sonnets.

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Vocabulary

- Thee ---> archaic or dialect form of you, as the singular object of a verb or preposition.

"we beseech thee O lord"

- Thou ---> archaic or dialect form of you, as the singular subject of a verb.

- Art ---> The archaic form of the verb "are"

- Temperate ---> showing moderation or self-restraint. Controlled

- Rough ---> in a manner that lacks gentleness; harshly or violently.

- Darling ---> beloved.

"his darling wife"

- Buds ---> a compact growth on a plant that develops into a leaf, flower, or shoot.

- Lease ---> a contract by which one party conveys land, property, services, etc. to another for a specified time, usually in return for a periodic payment.

- Hath ---> archaic third person singular present of have.

- The Eye of Heaven ---> "The eye of heaven" is a poetic and figurative term that refers to the sun, symbolizing its illuminating, life-giving, and all-seeing nature. It highlights the sun's importance in the sky and as a powerful, radiant force that watches over the world

- Complexion --->

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Sonnet 18: Shall I compare Thee to a Summer's Day?

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

And summer’s lease hath all too short a date;

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,

And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;

And every fair from fair sometime declines,

By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm'd;

But thy eternal summer shall not fade,

Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;

Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade,

When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Sonnet 130: My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;

Coral is far more red than her lips' red;

If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;

If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.

I have seen roses damasked, red and white,

But no such roses see I in her cheeks;

And in some perfumes is there more delight

Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.

I love to hear her speak, yet well I know

That music hath a far more pleasing sound;

I grant I never saw a goddess go;

My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground.

And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare

As any she belied with false compare.

Sonnet 116: Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments; love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove.

O no, it is an ever-fixèd mark

That looks on tempests and is never shaken;

It is the star to every wand'ring bark

Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.

Love's not time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks

Within his bending sickle's compass come.

Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,

But bears it out even to the edge of doom:

If this be error and upon me proved,

I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

Sonnet 73: That time of year thou mayst in me behold

That time of year thou mayst in me behold

When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang

Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,

Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.

In me thou see'st the twilight of such day

As after sunset fadeth in the west,

Which by and by black night doth take away,

Death's second self, that seals up all in rest.

In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire

That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,

As the death-bed whereon it must expire,

Consum'd with that which it was nourish'd by.

This thou perceiv'st, which makes thy love more strong,

To love that well which thou must leave ere long.

External Links:

- https://study.com/academy/lesson/poems-with-abab-rhyme-scheme-examples-lesson-quiz.html

- https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43673/london-56d222777e969

- https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45087/sonnet-18-shall-i-compare-thee-to-a-summers-day

- https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/stanza

- https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/quatrain

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