Question

identifying rhyme scheme
directions

1. read the following poems.
2. for each poem, identify the rhyme scheme and write it next to the poem.
3. answer the questions.

mary had a little lamb
mary had a little lamb
her fleece was white as snow
and everywhere that mary went
the lamb was sure to go
it followed her to school one day,
which was against the rules.
it made the children laugh and play,
to see a lamb at school
and so the teacher turned it out
but still it lingered near
and waited patiently about,
till mary did appear
\why does the lamb love mary so?\
the eager children cry
\why, mary loves the lamb, you know.\
the teacher did reply
how many stanzas?
how many lines does this poem have?

Explanation:

1. Rhyme Scheme Identification: Assign the first unique letter (A) to the first line. Match letters to lines that rhyme with previous lines:

• Line 1 ("lamb") = A; no other line rhymes with it.
• Line 2 ("snow") = B; Line 12 ("know") rhymes with it, so Line 12 = B.
• Line 3 ("went") = C; no other line rhymes with it.
• Line 4 ("go") = D; Line 5 ("day") and Line 7 ("play") rhyme with it, so Line 5 = D, Line 7 = D.
• Line 6 ("rules") = E; no other line rhymes with it.
• Line 8 ("school") = F; no other line rhymes with it.
• Line 9 ("out") = G; no other line rhymes with it.
• Line 10 ("near") = H; Line 11 ("about") rhymes with it, so Line 11 = H.
• Line 13 ("appear") = I; Line 14 ("cry") and Line 16 ("reply") rhyme with it, so Line 14 = I, Line 16 = I.
• Line 15 ("so?") = J; no other line rhymes with it.

1. Stanzas Count: A stanza is a group of lines separated by space. The poem has 4 distinct line groups.
2. Lines Count: Count all individual lines in the poem.

Answer:

Rhyme Scheme (line by line):

Mary had a little lamb: A
Her fleece was white as snow: B
And everywhere that Mary went: C
The lamb was sure to go: D
It followed her to school one day: D
Which was against the rules: E
It made the children laugh and play: D
To see a lamb at school: F
And so the teacher turned it out: G
But still it lingered near: H
And waited patiently about: H
Till Mary did appear: I
"Why does the lamb love Mary so?": J
The eager children cry: I
"Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know.": B
The teacher did reply: I

Questions:

How many stanzas? 4
How many lines does this poem have? 16