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Difficulty: MediumPoetic Forms and Structures

Read the stanza below:

"The silent night comes creeping through the trees,
And shadows lengthen on the ancient floor,
While softly whispers now the evening breeze,
To lock the secrets behind wisdom's door;
The restless waves recede along the shore,
And all the world settles in tranquil rest,
As darkness gathers on the mountain's crest."

Which poetic structural form is exemplified by this seven-line stanza and its specific rhyme scheme?

  1. Rhyme royalAnswer
  2. B
    Ottava rima
  3. C
    Spenserian stanza
  4. D
    Terza rima

Answer

Rhyme royal
Rhyme royal is a fixed poetic form comprising seven lines written in iambic pentameter with the rhyme scheme ababbcc (a quatrain with alternate rhyme followed by a couplet, overlapping on the 'b' rhyme).

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Count the number of lines in the stanza
The stanza contains exactly 7 lines.
Identifying line count narrows down the stanzaic form.
2
Map the end-rhyme pattern across lines 1 to 7
trees (a), floor (b), breeze (a), door (b), shore (b), rest (c), crest (c) yields an ababbcc scheme.
Establishing the precise rhyme scheme distinguishes between fixed seven-line forms.
3
Correlate the line count and rhyme scheme with standard poetic terms
A 7-line stanza rhyming ababbcc is classified as rhyme royal.
Rhyme royal is traditionally defined as a seven-line iambic pentameter stanza structured ababbcc.

Key Concept

Rhyme Royal Stanzaic Structure
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Topics

Poetic Forms and Structures

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