1. Identifying Rhyming Words
* Look for words that sound alike at the end of lines. These are called "rhymes."
* Consider the sound, not the spelling. "Love" and "dove" rhyme, even though they are spelled differently.
2. Assigning Letters
* Start with the letter "A" for the first line of the poem.
* If the next line rhymes with the first line, give it the same letter "A."
* If the next line doesn't rhyme with the first two, assign it the letter "B."
* Continue this pattern, using a new letter for each new rhyme.
Example:
```
The sun is shining (A)
The birds are singing (A)
The flowers are blooming (B)
The world is swinging (B)
```
3. Common Rhyme Schemes
* Couplet: AA (two lines that rhyme)
* Triplet: AAA (three lines that rhyme)
* Quatrain: AABB, ABAB, AABB CDCD, ABCB (four lines with various rhyme patterns)
* Sonnet: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG (Shakespearean sonnet) or ABBAABBA CDECDE (Italian sonnet)
4. Marking the Rhyme Scheme
* Write the letter assigned to each line directly below the line of poetry.
* This visual representation clearly shows the rhyme scheme.
Here's an example with a Shakespearean sonnet:
```
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? A
Thou art more lovely and more temperate: B
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, A
And summer's lease hath all too short a date: B
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, C
And often is his gold complexion dimmed; D
And every fair from fair sometime declines, C
By chance or nature's changing course untrimmed; D
But thy eternal summer shall not fade, E
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st; F
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade, E
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st: F
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, G
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. G
```
Tips:
* Don't be afraid to use a new letter if you're unsure if a line rhymes. It's better to be cautious than to mistakenly label a line as rhyming.
* Look for slant rhymes or near rhymes. These are words that don't rhyme perfectly but share similar sounds (e.g., "love" and "move"). You can indicate these with lowercase letters (a, b, etc.).
Remember: Identifying and labeling rhyme schemes can help you understand the structure and sound of a poem, and appreciate how the poet is using language to create a particular effect.