Question

complete the rhyme scheme.
the wind was like a whip
cracking past my icy ears,
and my hair stood out behind,
and my eyes were full of tears,
wide-open and cold,
more tears than they could hold.
adapted from edna st. vincent millay, \the bean-stalk\

Explanation:

To determine the rhyme scheme, we analyze the end - sounds of each line:

Step 1: Analyze the first line

The first line "The wind was like a whip" ends with "whip". We assign it the letter 'A'.

Step 2: Analyze the second line

The second line "Cracking past my icy ears," ends with "ears". This sound is different from "whip", so we assign it 'B'.

Step 3: Analyze the third line

The third line "And my hair stood out behind," ends with "behind". This sound is different from both "whip" and "ears", so we assign it 'C'.

Step 4: Analyze the fourth line

The fourth line "And my eyes were full of tears," ends with "tears". The sound of "tears" rhymes with "ears" (from the second line), so we assign it 'B' (since it has the same end - sound as the line with 'B').

Step 5: Analyze the fifth line

The fifth line "Wide - open and cold," ends with "cold". This sound is different from the previous ones, so we assign it 'D'.

Step 6: Analyze the sixth line

The sixth line "More tears than they could hold." ends with "hold". The sound of "hold" rhymes with "cold" (from the fifth line), so we assign it 'D' (since it has the same end - sound as the line with 'D').

So the rhyme scheme is: A, B, C, B, D, D.

Answer:

The rhyme scheme for the given poem is A, B, C, B, D, D (where the first line is A, the second is B, the third is C, the fourth is B, the fifth is D, and the sixth is D).