Rhyme patterns and linguistic structures in poetry

Rhyming in Poetry

Ruba

Poetry Analysis of "Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allan Poe and "Sonnet 73" by William Shakespeare

In poetry, the element of rhyming is an essential tool used by poets in order to provide their audiences further reiteration of the subject or theme discussed in the poem. Rhyming becomes an effective tool for reiteration of a message because it usually functions as an element of rhythm, thereby giving the poem a distinct flow in accordance to the tone of the poem. Technically defined, rhyming is "the likeness of the terminal sound of words, frequently used in versification either at the end of a line of a verse or within the line" (Microsoft Encarta 2002). Apart from providing a characteristic flow to the poem, rhymes are also effective in providing continuity in thought, making the audiences in line with the poem's message and main idea.

In order to understand fully how rhyming is an effective tool in poetry, two poems will be analyzed, which are "Sonnet 73" by William Shakespeare and "Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allan Poe. Both poems share a common theme, where the poets express their eternal love to their lovers, equating their love to death and eventually, eternal existence together. However, Shakespeare and Poe adopted different rhyming techniques in order to illustrate and expound on the theme of love and death, and the determination of these differences between the two poets will be the main task that will be accomplished in this poetry analysis.

In Shakespeare's "Sonnet 73," the poet utilizes rhyme as a tool for effective imagery. The first four lines of the poem liken the poet's love by subsisting to images related to nature. The rhymes "behold" and "cold" in the 1st and 3rd lines of the poems are identified as masculine rhymes, where the final sound of the words are similar. Aside from their sounds, the use of these rhyming words suggest how the poet feels his lover's warmth and love ("behold") despite nature's interference ("cold"). Lines 5-8 are interchangeable among each other, where lines 5 and 7 supplement each other in the same manner lines 6 and 8 do. The line "... after the sunset fadeth in the west" is synonymous to the line "Death's second self" and "rest" in line 8. It is noticeable that Shakespeare assumes a remorseful tone in his poem, although he ends his poem in a loving and more positive note, using the rhyming words "strong" and "long" in the last two lines of the poem to suggest how he and his lover's love for each other will remain "strong" and eternal in spite of death.