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Traditional Techniques of Poetry

Most traditional poems follow exact patterns of rhyme and rhythm. Consider this famous traditional poem by Leigh Hunt:

Rhyme and Meter

In most traditional poetry, the rhyme is organized in patterns called rhyme schemes. (See the letters in parentheses above.)

Meter is the rhythm, or pattern of accented and unaccented syllables, in the lines of a poem. In the poem above, every other syllable is accented. (Jenny kissed me when we met.) This pattern of accented and unaccented syllables creates the poem’s meter. (See foot and verse for more information on meter.)