POETIC STRUCTURE

Poetic form
A poetic form refers to a type of poem that follows a particular set of rules, whether it be
the number of lines, the length or number of stanzas, rhyme scheme, meter, or subject
matter. This type of poetry is seen as having a formal structure.
Some poems, however, do not follow any rules or set patterns. They are called free verse.

Rhyme scheme
Rhyme schemes are patterns of end rhymes in poems and songs that help make them
sound musical and nice.
So, say you have a four-line stanza, like this one, from "The Jabberwocky":
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogroves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
Toves rhymes with borogroves, and wabe rhymes with outgrabe. So the rhymes alternate
every other line, making the rhyme scheme of this stanza, ABAB.
Sound devices
Most poems—whether formal or free verse—include sound devices. These are
combinations of words that are used to stress certain sounds and create musical effects.
Common sound devices include the following types:

 Alliteration: repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of syllables,

especially stressed syllables
EXAMPLE: O wild West Wind

 Consonance: repetition of consonant sounds at the end of syllables with

different vowel sounds.
EXAMPLE: a quiet light, and then not even that

 Assonance: repetition of vowel sounds in stressed syllables that end with

different consonant sounds
EXAMPLE: pebbles resting in wet sand

See page 423