Question

What is the rhyme scheme for “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou?

Answer 1

Hint: The sequence of sounds that repeats at the end of a line or stanza is known as a rhyme scheme. The rhyme scheme ABAB, for example, means that the first and third lines of a stanza, or the "A"s, rhyme with each other, and the second and fourth lines, or the "B"s, rhyme together.

Complete answer:
Still, I Rise, Maya Angelou's third collection of poetry, was published by Random House in 1978. It was released during one of Angelou's most prolific times, as she had already written three autobiographies and published two other collections of poetry. And Still, I Rise is divided into three sections and consists of 32 short poems. The poems' themes focus on a hopeful determination to overcome adversity and discouragement, and they cover much of the same ground as Angelou's autobiographies and previous poetry collections. "Phenomenal Woman" and "Still I Rise," two of her most well-known and popular poems, are included in this collection.

The rhyme scheme begins as 'A-B-C-B', it means that the second line rhymes with the fourth line but the first and fourth line does not rhyme, at the last two verses it changes to 'A-B-A-B-C-C' and then again for the last verse where it changes to 'A-B-A-B-C-C-B-B-B'.

Note: Various types of rhyme schemes that can be used are:
Alternate rhyme: the first and the third lines rhyme at the end, and the second and the fourth lines - rhyme at the end. Pattern: ABAB
- Ballade.
- Coupled rhyme.
- Monorhyme.
- Enclosed rhyme.
- Sonnet VII.
- Simple four-line rhyme.
- Triplet.