How to Label the Rhyme Scheme of a Multi-Stanza Poem

Rhyme, the most used sound repetition in poetry, has a musical effect within a poem and contributes to its structure. While a lot of poetry does not adhere to a formal rhyme scheme, rhyming lines have powerful result when used in poems. You can add to your understanding of the mechanics of a multi-stanza poem, which is defined as a poem comprised of more than one unit, by labeling its rhyme scheme. A rhyme scheme is the repetition of rhyme throughout the poem that form a pattern, and it is usually shown with letters that represent these patterns.

Step 1

Read a multi-stanza poem and note which words rhyme. Identify rhyme by the way the words sound instead of by the way they are spelled. Note perfect rhyme, such as “Feather” and “Weather”; slant rhyme, such as “”game” and “grime”; masculine rhyme, such as “hat” and “cat”; and feminine rhyme, such as “turtle” and “myrtle."

Step 2

Identify rhyming words in the poem. End rhymes occur at the ends of lines and internal rhymes occur within a line. Circle these words in the poem if it will help you remember exactly where they are.

Step 3

Label each group of rhyming words. You can write this down on a separate piece of paper or next to each line of the poem. Use letters to show which lines rhyme with one another, going in alphabetical order. For example, words such as “dog,” “frog,” “bog” would be labeled with “A.” The next group of rhyming words, such as “dark,” “park,” or “mark,” would be labeled with “B,” and so on.

Step 4

Continue labeling each stanza of the poem until each line has been labeled with a letter. Leave a space between each stanza.