Rhyme-- Haley Longworth

A Boat Beneath a Sunny Sky BY LEWIS CARROLL A BOAT beneath a sunny sky, A Lingering onward dreamily B In an evening of July — A Children three that nestle near, C Eager eye and willing ear, C Pleased a simple tale to hear — C Long has paled that sunny sky: A Echoes fade and memories die: A Autumn frosts have slain July. A Still she haunts me, phantomwise, D Alice moving under skies D Never seen by waking eyes. D Children yet, the tale to hear, C Eager eye and willing ear, C Lovingly shall nestle near. C In a Wonderland they lie, A Dreaming as the days go by, A Dreaming as the summers die: A Ever drifting down the stream — E Lingering in the golden gleam — E Life, what is it but a dream? E Carroll, Lewis. "A Boat Beneath a Sunny Sky." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation. Web. 9 Oct. 2014. <http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173163>. The author of this poem, Lewis Carroll, makes use of end rhyme throughout, using the rhyme scheme ABACCCAAADDDCCCAAAEEE. His application of end rhyme helps to unify the poem because it captures the image of children dreaming of the warmth and relaxation of summer, even as the season passes. It also gives a nice rhythm to the poem, making the words float like clouds across a summer sky. Rhyme also reminds most people of childhood story books, which connects to the topic of children's dreams and the wonderland they live in. Lastly, the repetition of the rhyming words unifies the poem even more and connects the separate stanzas. For example, Carroll almost exactly repeats stanza 2 in stanza 5 when he writes about the eagerness children have for stories, and stanzas 3 and 6 the author talks about the death of summer and the memories of it, yet there is still continuation of the children's dreams.