RHYME

SCHEMES
When to use them, when to break them.
VIDEO TIME
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfQD5ppR_3k
 Watch this and ask yourself what stands out to you lyrically (besides the obvious content).
WHY RHYME?
 Make ideas flow into one another.
 Display of creative ability of words.
 Rhythmic aid to your music.
 Make lines of your work more memorable.
WHAT IS A RHYME?
 Words that sound the same.
 Perfect rhymes; cat, hat, bat
 Slant/Near Rhymes; dawn, one, some
THE RHYME SCHEME
 Rhyme Schemes are guidelines and what combination of rhymes to use.
 They are denoted by letter names; A, B and X (but not confined to just these letters)
 Example:

Now we’ve got problems (A)

I don’t think we can solve ‘em (A)
You left a really deep cut (B)
‘Cause baby now we’ve got bad blood (B)
- Taylor Swift - Bad Blood
 When songwriters write, they dont necessarily think of this before they write, but it’s handy to know.
 You can use rhyme schemes in any combination you desire, unless you’re writing something very specific.
 Specifics: Limericks (AABBA), Ballade (ABABBCBC), Terza Rima Scheme (ABABCBCDC....), Couplet
(AABB)
TYPES OF RHYME SCHEMES
 ABAB: Alternating rhyme schemes; very common 

 XAXA: Two lines (the x’s) don’t rhyme with anything (or even themselves). note: can also be
AXAX 
 AABB: Pairs two lines that rhyme with each other 

 AAAA: The mono rhyme. Everything rhymes with one another, consistently. 
 AXAA/AAXA: An interesting scheme which leaves ONE line hanging while everything else
rhymes. Used to rhyme impossible words that have significant meaning. Found in the Persian poetic
form called the “Ruba’i”.
 ABBA: (Not how they got the name, sadly) A rhyme pair in between another pair that rhymes. Also
called an ‘enclosed pair’. 
 AXXA: Pair in between two rhyming sentences that don’t rhyme with each other or any other
stanza. 
EXAMPLES OF AAXA
A TRICK I PERSONALLY USE
WITH RHYMES
 I write a sentence and look at the last word and construct the next sentence based on a word
that rhymes with it.
 Eg:- “Foreign Land of Opportunity…” a near rhyme to the word ‘opportunity’ to me was
either ‘society’ or ‘anarchy’.
 My ideas came together with the word ‘anarchy’ therefore; the whole two lines were:

Foreign land of opportunity

A plate of civil rights, with a side of anarchy.
- Soyam Dean
WHY NOT TO USE THESE
RHYME SCHEMES
 Compromising on certain ideas if they don’t adhere to a rhyme scheme.
 Direct translation from another language.
 Based on/meant to be a free-verse poem.
 There’s a refrain/recurring line and the rhyme sounds tacky/seems like overkill.
 It’s f****ing frustrating.
ACTIVITY TIME
 Choose between one or two activities (or both, for extra practice):

1. Create a verse/chorus after the first line; “If I look hard enough, I could see it now…”. Use
any of the given rhyme schemes and feel free to use either perfect or near rhymes at the end
of each line. Hint: rhyming dictionaries will come in handy. (https://www.rhymer.com/)
2. Write a minimum of two four line stanzas about a memorable day you had (good/bad) in
free verse. No limitations, except that you can’t rhyme.
HOMEWORK
 Write at least 10 lines either in free verse or with any of the rhyme schemes given on a topic.
Hint: writing an intent plan before will help. Use any tools/advice to help you with this.
 If writing in free verse, the lines should have some flow to it; if it is a random series of
sentences that have nothing to do with each other, it isn’t song-worthy.
 If writing with a rhyme scheme, make sure that your lyrics make sense and you aren’t rhyming
words for the sake of rhyming. Eg:- I want to ride a bike, then I took a hike.
 You can either come up with a new idea or work on one of your intent plans from the first
class. I won’t hold you to what you write about, just that you write.
TAKEAWAY
 Rhyme schemes are a creative tool to use.
 In some cases they way in which you use them is very important.
 Know when to use them but be aware of the ability to not use them.
 If you enjoy the writing process, you’re on the right track.
THANK YOU