ABABB Poetry

The ABABB rhyme scheme forms a five-line stanza where the outer lines (1 and 3) share one rhyme, while lines 2, 4, and 5 follow another. This asymmetrical pattern subtly destabilizes expectations, allowing poets to delay closure or shift emphasis in the final line, often creating tension or thematic contrast.

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Porphyria’s Lover

by Robert Browning

‘Porphyria’s Lover,’ opens up with a classic setting of a stormy evening. It is a story of a deranged and lovesick man.

This poem adopts the ABABB rhyme scheme - a strict form which contrasts the lack of control exhibited by the man as he strangles his lover. However, it succeeds in reflecting the speaker's overwhelming need to exert control over those around him, including control over their lives and ultimately, their deaths.

The rain set early in to-night,

The sullen wind was soon awake,

It tore the elm-tops down for spite,

And did its worst to vex the lake:

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ABABB Poetry

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ABABB Poetry

Porphyria’s Lover

by Robert Browning

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