Question

complete the rhyme scheme.
a a a b b
i visited the place where we last met.
nothing was changed, the gardens were well - tended,
the fountains sprayed their usual steady jet;
there was no sign that anything had ended
and nothing to instruct me to forget.
from elizabeth jennings, \absence\

Explanation:

In rhyme scheme analysis, each line is assigned a letter. Lines that rhyme with each other get the same letter.

• The first line "I visited the place where we last met." - Let's call its rhyme sound as "A".
• The second line "Nothing was changed, the gardens were well - tended" rhymes with the first line (the vowel sound in "met" and "tended" is similar in the context of the poem's rhythm and rhyme perception), so it's also "A".
• The third line "The fountains sprayed their usual steady jet" has a new rhyme sound (the "et" sound in "jet"), so it's "B".
• The fourth line "There was no sign that anything had ended" rhymes with the third line (the "ed" sound in "ended" rhymes with "jet" in the poem's flow), so it's "B".
• The fifth line "And nothing to instruct me to forget" rhymes with the third and fourth lines (the "et" sound in "forget" rhymes with "jet" and "ended" in the poem's rhythm), so it's "B".

Answer:

A, A, B, B, B