We have changed our privacy policy. In addition, we use cookies on our website for various purposes. By continuing on our website, you consent to our use of cookies. You can learn about our practices by reading our privacy policy.

Goblin Market

Irregular

The meter and rhyme scheme are irregular in "Goblin Market." The poem generally follows an ABAB rhyme scheme, but not always. In fact, sometimes there's a long gap between a word and its rhyme, and sometimes there are many lines in a row with the same rhyming syllable at the end (like lines 134-136).

Why does it change so often? Why are some lines so much longer than others? What's the effect of reading several lines in a row that rhyme, while earlier bits were in a different pattern? These are all good questions to think about as you read the poem, because the answers will be different for different readers.