introduction to shakespeare rhyme scheme and figures of speech

Introduction to Shakespeare

Rhyme Scheme and Figures of Speech

Shakespeare and Poetry

Rhyme – The repetition of sounds at the end of words. Examples: cat, bat, rat; light, sight, right.


End rhyme – This occurs when a word at the end of one line of poetry rhymes with a word at the end of another line.


End rhyme – This occurs when a word at the end of one line of poetry rhymes with a word at the end of another line.

It is as sure as you are Roderigo,If I were the Moor, I would not be Iago.


Another example of end rhyme:

The which if you with patient ears attend,What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.


One more example of end rhyme:

I wanna rock right nowI'm Rob Base and I came to get downI'm not internationally knownBut I'm known to rock the microphone

--Rob Base and D.J. E-Z Rock “It Takes Two”


Rhyme scheme occurs in poems that utilize end rhyme. The lines with end rhyme do not have to be consecutive.


From “Sick” by Shel Silverstien (Example of Rhyme Scheme)

1 "I cannot go to school today,"2 Said little Peggy Ann McKay.3 "I have the measles and the mumps,4 A gash, a rash and purple bumps.5 My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,6 I'm going blind in my right eye.



1 "I cannot go to school today," (a)2 Said little Peggy Ann McKay.3 "I have the measles and the mumps,4 A gash, a rash and purple bumps.5 My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,6 I'm going blind in my right eye.



1 "I cannot go to school today," (a)2 Said little Peggy Ann McKay. (a)3 "I have the measles and the mumps,4 A gash, a rash and purple bumps.5 My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,6 I'm going blind in my right eye.



1 "I cannot go to school today," (a)2 Said little Peggy Ann McKay. (a)3 "I have the measles and the mumps, 4 A gash, a rash and purple bumps.5 My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,6 I'm going blind in my right eye.



1 "I cannot go to school today," (a)2 Said little Peggy Ann McKay. (a)3 "I have the measles and the mumps, (b)4 A gash, a rash and purple bumps. (b)5 My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,6 I'm going blind in my right eye.



1 "I cannot go to school today," (a)2 Said little Peggy Ann McKay. (a)3 "I have the measles and the mumps, (b)4 A gash, a rash and purple bumps. (b)5 My mouth is wet, my throat is dry, (c)6 I'm going blind in my right eye.



1 "I cannot go to school today," (a)2 Said little Peggy Ann McKay. (a)3 "I have the measles and the mumps, (b)4 A gash, a rash and purple bumps. (b)5 My mouth is wet, my throat is dry, (c)6 I'm going blind in my right eye. (c)

Shakespeare and PoetryFrom “Sick” by Shel Silverstien (Example of Rhyme

Scheme)1 "I cannot go to school today," (a)2 Said little Peggy Ann McKay. (a)3 "I have the measles and the mumps, (b)4 A gash, a rash and purple bumps. (b)5 My mouth is wet, my throat is dry, (c)6 I'm going blind in my right eye. (c)The rhyme scheme of these six lines of poetry is

a,a,b,b,c,c.


Limerick

There was a young boy from Caboo,Who had trouble tying his shoe.He said to his ox,"I'll just walk in my socks."Now all of his friends do that, too!


Limerick

There was a young boy from Caboo, (a)Who had trouble tying his shoe. (a)He said to his ox,"I'll just walk in my socks."Now all of his friends do that, too! (a)


Limerick

There was a young boy from Caboo, (a)Who had trouble tying his shoe. (a)He said to his ox, (b)"I'll just walk in my socks." (b)Now all of his friends do that, too! (a)


Limerick

There was a young boy from Caboo, (a)Who had trouble tying his shoe. (a)He said to his ox, (b)"I'll just walk in my socks." (b)Now all of his friends do that, too! (a)The rhyme scheme of a Limerick is a,a,b,b,a.

Rhyme Scheme Practice

Shadows on the wall (a)Noises down the hall (a)Life doesn't frighten me at all (a)Bad dogs barking loud (b)Big ghosts in a cloud (b)Life doesn't frighten me at all. (a)


Mean Old Mother GooseLions on the looseThey don't frighten me at allDragons breathing flameOn my counterpaneThat doesn't frighten me at all.


Mean Old Mother Goose (c)Lions on the loose (c)They don't frighten me at allDragons breathing flameOn my counterpaneThat doesn't frighten me at all.


Mean Old Mother Goose (c)Lions on the loose (c)They don't frighten me at all (a)Dragons breathing flameOn my counterpaneThat doesn't frighten me at all.


Mean Old Mother Goose (c)Lions on the loose (c)They don't frighten me at all (a)Dragons breathing flame (d)On my counterpane (d)That doesn't frighten me at all.


Mean Old Mother Goose (c)Lions on the loose (c)They don't frighten me at all (a)Dragons breathing flame (d)On my counterpane (d)That doesn't frighten me at all. (a)

Rhyme Scheme PracticeI go booMake them shooI make funWay they runI won't crySo they flyI just smileThey go wildLife doesn't frighten me at all.

Rhyme Scheme PracticeI go boo (e)Make them shoo (e)I make funWay they runI won't crySo they flyI just smileThey go wildLife doesn't frighten me at all.

Rhyme Scheme PracticeI go boo (e)Make them shoo (e)I make fun (f)Way they run (f)I won't crySo they flyI just smileThey go wildLife doesn't frighten me at all.

Rhyme Scheme PracticeI go boo (e)Make them shoo (e)I make fun (f)Way they run (f)I won't cry (g)So they fly (g)I just smileThey go wildLife doesn't frighten me at all.

Rhyme Scheme PracticeI go boo (e)Make them shoo (e)I make fun (f)Way they run (f)I won't cry (g)So they fly (g)I just smile (h)They go wild (h)Life doesn't frighten me at all.

Rhyme Scheme PracticeI go boo (e)Make them shoo (e)I make fun (f)Way they run (f)I won't cry (g)So they fly (g)I just smile (h)They go wild (h)Life doesn't frighten me at all. (a)


The rhyme scheme of the “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me” is a,a,a,b,b,a,c,c,a,d,d,a,e,e,f,f,g,g,h,h,a.


Gaily bedight, A gallant knight,In sunshine and in shadow,Had journeyed long,Singing a song,In search of Eldorado.


Gaily bedight, (a)A gallant knight, (a)In sunshine and in shadow,Had journeyed long,Singing a song,In search of Eldorado.


Gaily bedight, (a)A gallant knight, (a)In sunshine and in shadow, (b)Had journeyed long,Singing a song,In search of Eldorado. (b)


Gaily bedight, (a)A gallant knight, (a)In sunshine and in shadow, (b)Had journeyed long, (c)Singing a song, (c)In search of Eldorado. (b)


Gaily bedight, (a)A gallant knight, (a)In sunshine and in shadow, (b)Had journeyed long, (c)Singing a song, (c)In search of Eldorado. (b)The rhyme scheme for this stanza is a,a,b,c,c,b.


The rhyme scheme for all three stanzas isa,a,b,c,c,b,d,d,b,e,e,b,f,f,b,g,g,b.


Couplet – Two lines of poetry paired together that have end rhyme.

Quatrain – Four lines of poetry that are rhymed together. A quatrain may have an a,b,a,b rhyme scheme.


Example of a couplet:

But that a joy past joy calls out on me,It were a grief, so brief to part with thee.

--Romeo and Juliet, Act III, Scene iii


Example of a quatrain:

Two households, both alike in dignity,In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.

--Romeo and Juliet Prologue



Two households, both alike in dignity, (a)In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, (a)Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.




Two households, both alike in dignity, (a)In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, (b)From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, (a)Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. (b)


Figures of Speech

Simile – A comparison between two unlike things that share a similar quality. Similes use comparison words such as “like,” “as,” or “resembles.”

Figures of Speech


Example:Sally runs as fast as the wind.

Figures of Speech


Example:Life is like a roller coaster.

Figures of Speech

Metaphor – A comparison between two unlike things that share a similar quality. There is no comparison word used.

Figures of Speech


Example:“Love is a warm summer day.”

Figures of Speech


Example:“Love is a warm summer day.”(Notice that there is no comparison word.)

Figures of Speech


Example:John was a guided missile on the football field.

Practice: Simile or Metaphor

“The sun had set,…and a thin veil of light pressed against our house and the Modder River as it crawled like a fat brown snake out of the mountains” (Fugard 569).


“The sun had set,…and a thin veil of light pressed against our house and the Modder River as it crawled like a fat brown snake out of the mountains” (Fugard 569).

Simile


“The heron’s neck was liquid in the moonlight” (Fugard 570).


“The heron’s neck was liquid in the moonlight” (Fugard 570).

Metaphor


“Its beak glinted like a dagger” (Fugard 570).


“Its beak glinted like a dagger” (Fugard 570).

Simile


“The continuum of testing is like a riverthat never ends.” (Pat Abrams – English teacher, Fairfax High School)


“The continuum of testing is like a riverthat never ends.” (Pat Abrams – English teacher, Fairfax High School)

Simile


“When Papa saw us, he began running swiftly, easily, like the wind” (Taylor).


“When Papa saw us, he began running swiftly, easily, like the wind” (Taylor).

Simile


“O beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster, which doth mock the meat it feeds on” (Iago to Othello, Othello, Act III, iii).


“O beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster, which doth mock the meat it feeds on” (Iago to Othello, Othello, Act III, iii).

Metaphor

introduction to shakespeare rhyme scheme and figures of speech

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