Read the excerpt below from “The Lake of the Dismal Swamp” by Thomas Moore and complete the instruction that follows. “They made
her a grave, too cold and damp For a soul so warm and true; And she’s gone to the Lake of the Dismal Swamp, Where, all night long, by a fire-fly lamp, She paddles her white canoe. “And her fire-fly lamp I soon shall see, And her paddle I soon shall hear; Long and loving our life shall be, And I’ll hide the maid in a cypress tree, When the footstep of death is near.” Identify the rhyme scheme and metrical pattern of this poem. The rhyme pattern is ABBAB and the meter is trochaic. The rhyme pattern is ABAAB, and the meter is iambic. The rhyme pattern is ABAAB and there is no meter. The poem is written in free verse without rhyme or meter.
The rhyme pattern is ABAAB, and the meter is iambic.
Explanation:
If we analyze these two stanzas of the poem in the following way, we can obtain the answer.
“They made her a grave, too cold and damp A (First sound)
For a soul so warm and true; B (Second sound)
And she’s gone to the Lake of the Dismal Swamp, A (Same sound of the first line)
Where, all night long, by a fire-fly lamp, A (Same sound of the first line)
She paddles her white canoe. B (Same sound of the second line)
“And her fire-fly lamp I soon shall see, A (First sound)
And her paddle I soon shall hear; B (Second sound)
Long and loving our life shall be, A (Same sound of the first line)
And I’ll hide the maid in a cypress tree, A (Same sound of the first line)
When the footstep of death is near.” B (Same sound of the second line)
On the other hand, the meter is the patter of stressed and unstressed syllables the Iambic meter patter is unstressed then stressed and it is the one used in this poem.
True, this was a quote that was very popular when slaves were around still. Symbolism doesn't always have to describe, usually just gives you a vivid image. I hope this was helpful
