RHYTHM AND REPETITION The musical qualities of poetry are strengthened by the rhythm and repetition within the lines of the poem. Rhythm is the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry. The stressed syllables are called “beats” in a line. Repetition is the repeated use of a sound, a word, an image, a phrase, a sentence, a rhyme, or a rhythm.
DIRECTIONS: Read the following poem, called “Twister.” Answer the questions about rhythm and repetition.
The torrid wind blows terribly in the dark of the black night,
The sound of a ferocious freight, the tornado’s thundering might,
The hiding hen, the cawing crow, both went for a midnight ride,
The twister is spinning—
Spinning—spinning—
The twister comes spinning, and there’s no place to hide.
1. Describe the rhythm pattern of this stanza.

2. What does the rhythm pattern suggest?

3. Lines four and five have a different rhythm. What is the effect of the changes in rhythm in these two lines?

4. Which word is repeated more than any other in this stanza?

5. How does the repetition strengthen the effect of this stanza’s descriptions?

6. Write the words that have the following repeated sounds of the alphabet.
a. t:
b. f:
c. h: