Ottava Rima uses which rhyme scheme?

Ottava Rima uses which rhyme scheme?

• A. ABABABCC
• B. ABAB CDCD EFEF
• C. AABBCCDD
• D. ABCABCAD

Answer: (A)

Ottava Rima is built on eight-line stanzas with a distinctive rhyme pattern: ABABABCC. In each stanza, the first six lines alternate rhymes (A, B, A, B, A, B), and the last two lines form a rhyming couplet (C and C) to close the octave. This pairing of a tight alternating sequence followed by a concluding couplet gives the form its flowing, narrative feel. Historically, it originated in Italian poetry (think Ariosto and Tasso) with hendecasyllabic lines, and when used in English, it’s commonly rendered in iambic pentameter to suit the language. The other patterns you might see—four-line units with different endings, or couplets arranged without the octave structure—don’t capture that signature eight-line stanza ending in a closing couplet.

Ottava Rima is built on eight-line stanzas with a distinctive rhyme pattern: ABABABCC. In each stanza, the first six lines alternate rhymes (A, B, A, B, A, B), and the last two lines form a rhyming couplet (C and C) to close the octave. This pairing of a tight alternating sequence followed by a concluding couplet gives the form its flowing, narrative feel. Historically, it originated in Italian poetry (think Ariosto and Tasso) with hendecasyllabic lines, and when used in English, it’s commonly rendered in iambic pentameter to suit the language. The other patterns you might see—four-line units with different endings, or couplets arranged without the octave structure—don’t capture that signature eight-line stanza ending in a closing couplet.