Question

complete the rhyme scheme.
a a b b
when you and i were young, we knew
to shout and laugh, to work and play,
and night was partner to the day
in all our joys. so swift time flew.
from paul laurence dunbar,
etrospection\

Explanation:

In poetry, rhyme scheme is determined by the end - sounds of lines. The first line ends with "knew", the second with "play", the third with "day", and the fourth with "flew". "Knew" and "flew" have a similar vowel sound (though "knew" is /nuː/ and "flew" is /fluː/ - they are considered to rhyme in some poetic traditions). "Play" (/pleɪ/) and "day" (/deɪ/) rhyme. So we label the first line as A (for the "ew" sound), the second as B (for the "ay" sound), the third as B (same "ay" as line 2), and the fourth as A (same "ew" as line 1).

Answer:

A, B, B, A