Poetry Forum

This week we will explore Rhyme and Rhythm...

The rhythm of a poem should be consistent and pleasing. Though not all poems will have lines that are the same meter, the meter should not vary to the point that it is distracting.

Meter- the number of syllables in a line of poetry.
Examples of types of meter- (each 'foot' of poetry consists of two syllables)

mono 2 syllables
di 4 syllables
tri 3 syllables
tetre 8 syllables
pente 10 syllables
hexa 12 syllables
hepte 14 syllables


Rhyme - rhyming helps move the reader fluently from one line to the other, adding to the flow of a poem.

The most recognizable rhyme is perfect rhyming, when the ends of words sound exactly the same...

cat, hat, bat
glistening, listening

There are other types of rhymes as well, but to keep things simple we will concentrate on these.

Assignment

Write 3 sets of rhyming couplets using either tetremeter (8 syllable per line) or pentameter (10 syllables per line)

A couplet is a pair of rhymed lines of the same length. Pairs of lines with matching end rhymes.

Examples:

Out in the lake I saw the boat.
I wasn't so sure it would float.


The bird up in the old Birch tree
sings a song, both wild and free.