Rhyme- Maranda Gaines

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders Fields

By John McCrae 1872–1918 John McCrae

 

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

    That mark our place; and in the sky

    The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

 

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

    Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

        In Flanders fields.

 

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

    The torch; be yours to hold it high.

    If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

        In Flanders fields.

 

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/176818#poem

Rhyme scheme: AABBA   AABC   AABBAC

In this poem by John McCrae, the narrator creates a war time setting. The battle has occurred in Flanders Fields where many dead bodies now lay, hinted by the phrase “between the crosses, row on row” in the field. The narrator creates this poem in remembrance of those who “loved and were loved” through a rhyme scheme using only three ending sounds. All of the lines are end rhymes, which creates a sense of unity throughout the poem. When we think of rhymes and end rhymes, we remember children’s books, songs, and games. Rhyming words help the reader to follow the piece with ease and the words are likely to linger in the reader’s memory afterward. The end rhymes keep the reader interested and intrigued by the poem. Since it is a poem honoring and remembering dead soldiers, the author’s clever use of a rhyme scheme unify the poem as a whole to stick with the reader.