Chain rhyme
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Chain rhyme is a
rhyme scheme A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhymes at the end of each line of a poem or song. It is usually referred to by using letters to indicate which lines rhyme; lines designated with the same letter all rhyme with each other. An example of the ABAB rh ...
that links together of
stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian language, Italian ''stanza'' , "room") is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or Indentation (typesetting), indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme scheme, rhyme and ...
s by carrying a
rhyme A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds (usually, the exact same phonemes) in the final stressed syllables and any following syllables of two or more words. Most often, this kind of perfect rhyming is consciously used for a musical or aesthetic ...
over from one stanza to the next. A number of verse forms use chain rhyme as an integral part of their structures. One example is
terza rima ''Terza rima'' (, also , ; ) is a rhyming verse form, in which the poem, or each poem-section, consists of tercets (three line stanzas) with an interlocking three-line rhyme scheme: The last word of the second line in one tercet provides the rhy ...
, which is written in
tercet A tercet is composed of three lines of poetry, forming a stanza or a complete poem. Examples of tercet forms English-language haiku is an example of an unrhymed tercet poem. A poetic triplet is a tercet in which all three lines follow the same ...
s with a rhyming pattern ABA BCB CDC. Another is the
virelai ancien A ''virelai'' is a form of medieval French verse used often in poetry and music. It is one of the three ''formes fixes'' (the others were the ballade and the rondeau) and was one of the most common verse forms set to music in Europe from the lat ...
, which rhymes AABAAB BBCBBC CCDCCD. Other verse forms may also use chain rhyme. For instance,
quatrain A quatrain is a type of stanza, or a complete poem, consisting of four lines. Existing in a variety of forms, the quatrain appears in poems from the poetic traditions of various ancient civilizations including Persia, Ancient India, Ancient Greec ...
s can be written to the following pattern: AABA BBCB CCDC. There are a few well-known examples of chain rhyme in world literature. In the
Persian language Persian (), also known by its endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken and ...
, chain rhyme is almost exclusively devoted to the poetic form of the Rubaiyat: a
poem Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...
that makes use of
quatrains A quatrain is a type of stanza, or a complete poem, consisting of four lines. Existing in a variety of forms, the quatrain appears in poems from the poetic traditions of various ancient civilizations including Persia, Ancient India, Ancient Greec ...
with the rhyme scheme AABA. Though not necessarily chain rhyme, the Rubiyat form has been mimicked throughout the world.
Robert Frost Robert Lee Frost (March26, 1874January29, 1963) was an American poet. His work was initially published in England before it was published in the United States. Known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloq ...
made use of Rubaiyat in chain rhyme form in his poem, "
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" is a poem by Robert Frost, written in 1922, and published in 1923 in his ''New Hampshire'' volume. Imagery, personification, and repetition are prominent in the work. In a letter to Louis Untermeyer, Frost ...
." Chain rhyme also known as “chain verse or interlocking rhyme" is a type of poetic technique where the poet uses the last syllable of a line and repeats it as the first syllable of the line following. Although the syllable is repeated, it carries a different meaning. The word “chain” is defined as a series of things connected or following in succession. The repetition of a word from a verse of stanza following the next creates a chain like connection between the lines. Rhymes are pleasing to the ears and help to distinguish similarities and differences. It helps the poet to shape the poem and the reader to understand it; creating a link between sound and thought. Examples Two examples of chained verse from William T. Dobson ''Poetical ingenuities and eccentricities'', London, 1882 (see tex
here
for the sources of these examples) Truth ''Nerve thy soul with doctrines noble,''
''Noble in the walks of time,''
''Time that leads to an eternal,''
''An eternal life sublime.''
''Life sublime in moral beauty,''
''Beauty that shall never be;''
''Ever be to lure thee onward,''
''Onward to the fountain free.''
''Free to every earnest seeker,''
''Seeker for the fount of youth;''
''Youth exultant in its beauty,''
''Beauty of the living truth.''
This is also quoted as an example of chained verse in
George Lansing Raymond George Lansing Raymond, (September 11, 1839–July 11, 1929) was a prominent professor of Aesthetic Criticism at Princeton University from 1881 to 1905, and author of a new system of esthetics. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature ...
’s ''Rhythm and Harmony in Poetry and Music'', where it is described as an example taken from "the excellent manual on ''English Versification'' of J. C. Parsons" which is probably James C. Parsons ''English versification for the use of students'', Boston, 1891, which also quotes this example. (in the web pag
Poetry through the ages (Webexhibits)
this poem is erroneously described as a translation of an anonymous French poem and Raymond's book is erroneously described as "a major anthology in America’s colleges and universities in the 1890s and 1900s") An untitled poem by
John Byrom John Byrom or John Byrom of Kersal or John Byrom of Manchester FRS (29 February 1692 – 26 September 1763) was an English poet, the inventor of a revolutionary system of shorthand and later a significant landowner. He is most remembered as t ...
: ''My spirit longeth for thee''
''Within my troubled breast,''
''Although I be unworthy''
''Of so divine a guest.''
''Of so divine a guest,''
''Unworthy though I be''
''Yet has my heart no rest,''
''Unless it comes from thee.''
''Unless it comes from thee''
''In vain I look around,''
''In all that I can see,''
''No rest is to be found.''
''No rest is to be found''
''But in thy blessed love,''
''Oh let my wish be crowned,''
''And send it from above.''
This example is also cited in the books by George Lansing Raymond and James C. Parsons. The form is also used in other languages. For instance, the popular
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
song '' Trois petits chats'' consists of chain verse.


References

*Bradley, A. (2009). Book of rhymes: The poetics of hip hop. New York: Basic civitas books pp 75–78. *Preminger, A. & Warnke, F.J. & Hardison, O.B. (1965). Princeton encyclopedia of poetry and poetics. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. *George Lansing Raymond (2008). Rhythm and harmony in poetry and music. Dyson Press. *William T. Dobson ''Poetical ingenuities and eccentricities'', London, 1882 *James C. Parsons ''English versification for the use of students'', Boston, 1891 Rhyme