Rhyme scheme is the arrangement of
rhyme at the end of lines
in a verse, stanza and poem. Thus the first stanza
of "If It Could Speak..." is abab:
If the cannon ball could speak, a
What would the projectile say? b
Did it from a barrel streak a
With puff of smoke in fray? b
The Italian sonnet is composed of an eight-line stanza, followed
by a six-line one. The rhyme scheme is abbaabba, then often cdecde.
The typical English sonnet is organized with three four-line stanzas, followed by a two-line stanza. The rhyme scheme for the English version is abab cdcd efef gg.
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