Rhyme Scheme

A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhymes at the ends of a poem's lines. We label it with letters — A, B, C — where lines that rhyme share the same letter. Below are the common schemes with examples, plus the schemes of famous poetic forms.

Identify a rhyme scheme

Paste any poem or lyrics and we’ll label each line’s end rhyme — revealing the scheme.

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Scheme: ABAB

AThe stars come out to fill the night,

Band slowly fades the golden day;

Athe moon ascends with silver light,

Band carries all my cares away.

Lines whose last words rhyme perfectly share a letter. Based on the CMU pronouncing dictionary.

How to label a rhyme scheme

Look at the last word of each line. Give the first line's ending the letter A. For each line after, reuse a letter if it rhymes with an earlier line, or take the next new letter if it doesn't. So a verse where lines 1 and 3 rhyme, and lines 2 and 4 rhyme, is ABAB.

Common rhyme schemes

AABBCouplets

Lines rhyme in consecutive pairs. Simple, sing-song, and common in nursery rhymes.

ATwinkle, twinkle, little star,

AHow I wonder what you are!

BUp above the world so high,

BLike a diamond in the sky.

ABABAlternate (cross) rhyme

Every other line rhymes. Balanced and flowing — the opening of a Shakespearean sonnet.

AShall I compare thee to a summer's day?

BThou art more lovely and more temperate:

ARough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

BAnd summer's lease hath all too short a date:

ABBAEnclosed (envelope) rhyme

An outer pair wraps an inner pair. Reflective and contained — used across Tennyson's In Memoriam.

AThe stars, she whispers, blindly run;

BA web is woven across the sky;

BFrom out waste places comes a cry,

AAnd murmurs from the dying sun.

ABCBBallad rhyme

Only the second and fourth lines rhyme. The backbone of ballads and countless four-line verses.

ARoses are red,

BViolets are blue,

CSugar is sweet,

BAnd so are you.

AABBALimerick

Five lines: a rhyming trio wrapped around a rhyming pair. Bouncy and comic.

AThere was an Old Man with a beard,

AWho said, 'It is just as I feared!

BTwo Owls and a Hen,

BFour Larks and a Wren,

AHave all built their nests in my beard!'

AAAAMonorhyme

Every line shares one rhyme. Insistent and hypnotic; common in some Arabic and Welsh forms.

AThe night was cold and clear,

AI felt the danger near,

Aand drew my courage here,

Aand faced my oldest fear.

Rhyme schemes of famous forms

Form	Rhyme scheme
Shakespearean sonnet	ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
Petrarchan sonnet	ABBAABBA + CDECDE (or CDCDCD)
Limerick	AABBA
Villanelle	ABA repeated, with two refrains
Terza rima	ABA BCB CDC DED…
Ottava rima	ABABABCC
Ballad stanza	ABCB
Haiku	no rhyme scheme (syllable-based: 5-7-5)

Building a poem to a scheme? Find the rhymes you need for any word.

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Rhyme scheme FAQ

What is a rhyme scheme?

A rhyme scheme is the pattern of end rhymes in a poem or song — the order in which line endings rhyme with one another. It's written with letters: each new ending sound gets the next letter of the alphabet, and lines that rhyme share the same letter.

How do you write (notate) a rhyme scheme?

Read the last word of each line. Give the first line's ending sound the letter A. For each following line, reuse a letter if it rhymes with an earlier line, or assign the next new letter if it doesn't. So a four-line verse rhyming lines 1–3 and 2–4 is ABAB.

What is the most common rhyme scheme?

Couplets (AABB) and alternate rhyme (ABAB) are the most common in English poetry and songwriting. Ballad rhyme (ABCB) is also extremely widespread because only two lines need to rhyme.

Does a poem need a rhyme scheme?

No. Free verse has no set rhyme scheme, and forms like haiku are built on syllables rather than rhyme. A rhyme scheme is a tool for musicality and structure, not a requirement.