Rhyme Scheme
The ordered pattern of rhymes at the ends of lines in a poem.
A rhyme scheme is mapped with letters—abab, aabb—each letter marking lines that rhyme together. Writers use it to give a poem shape and music and to link ideas across lines through echoing sound. Regular schemes create order; irregular ones can signal freedom or unrest.
Example
Frost’s steady abaab pattern in each stanza lends the poem a settled, conversational music that belies its lingering uncertainty.
The Road Not Taken · Robert Frost