Rhyme royal facts for kids
Rhyme royal is a special kind of stanza (which is like a paragraph in a poem). It has seven lines, and the lines rhyme in a specific pattern: the first line rhymes with the third, the second with the fourth and fifth, and the sixth rhymes with the seventh. You can also spell it as Rime royal.
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What is Rhyme Royal?
Rhyme royal is a poem section with seven lines. Each line usually has ten syllables. The rhyme pattern is A-B-A-B-B-C-C. This means the first and third lines rhyme. The second, fourth, and fifth lines rhyme. Then, the last two lines (the sixth and seventh) rhyme with each other.
Who Invented Rhyme Royal?
No one knows for sure who first created this poetic style. However, a famous English poet named Geoffrey Chaucer brought it to England in the 1300s. He might have learned it from poems in Italy or France. But it quickly became a very English way to write poetry.
Chaucer's Use of Rhyme Royal
Chaucer used rhyme royal in his well-known poem, Troilus and Criseyde. This style became very popular in the 1400s and 1500s. Many poets in England and Scotland enjoyed using it. It was especially good for writing long stories in verse.
How Rhyme Royal Sounds
In English poems, rhyme royal lines almost always have ten syllables. This gives them a steady, flowing rhythm. It makes the poems easy to read aloud. Outside of England, this style is not as common.
An Example of Rhyme Royal
An American poet named Emma Lazarus used rhyme royal in some of her poems. Here is an example from her poem Sympathy:
- It comes not in such wise as she had deemed,
- Else might she still have clung to her despair.
- More tender, grateful than she could have dreamed,
- Fond hands passed pitying over brows and hair,
- And gentle words borne softly through the air,
- Calming her weary sense and wildered mind,
- By welcome, dear communion with her kind.
Famous Poets Who Used Rhyme Royal
Besides Chaucer, other poets who often wrote in rhyme royal include William Morris and John Masefield. However, in the 1900s, this poetic form became less common. Poets started trying new styles.
