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How poems work: rhyme, rhythm and stanzas
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Poems are made to be heard as well as read. Poets choose the shape, sound and beat of their words carefully. Here you will learn the basic tools, using a famous poem by William Blake.
Poetry words to know
A famous opening
William Blake's 'The Tyger' is one of the 'Songs of Experience' in his collection *Songs of Innocence and of Experience* (1794). Notice the old spelling 'Tyger'.
How it works
Rhyme: 'bright' and 'night' rhyme as a couplet.
Rhythm: short lines with a strong, drumming beat, like a heartbeat or hammer.
Repetition: 'Tyger Tyger' grabs attention like a call or chant.
Imagery: 'burning bright' makes the tiger glow like fire in the dark.
Questions: the speaker wonders who could have made such a fearsome creature.
Rhythm: short lines with a strong, drumming beat, like a heartbeat or hammer.
Repetition: 'Tyger Tyger' grabs attention like a call or chant.
Imagery: 'burning bright' makes the tiger glow like fire in the dark.
Questions: the speaker wonders who could have made such a fearsome creature.
Work out the rhyme scheme of the four lines from 'The Tyger'.
- 'bright' and 'night' rhyme: A A.
- 'eye' and 'symmetry' are paired as the next couplet, even though they only half-rhyme to modern ears: B B.
- So the pattern is AABB: rhyming couplets.
Answer: AABB, rhyming couplets.
Poems are organised into stanzas. Look at rhyme (and the rhyme scheme), rhythm, repetition and imagery, and always ask why the poet made that choice.
The interactive lesson includes the diagrams for this topic.
Check you have got it
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