To My Mother

The form of the poem is a Shakespearean sonnet, with a strict rhyme scheme of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. The poem has two four-line stanzas, which are called quatrains, and then a final stanza that is six-lines long, called a sestet. The final two rhyming lines are called a couplet. Poe also uses slant rhymes, or words that employ similar sounds but do not exactly rhyme.

Shakespearean sonnets employ iambic pentameter, and the meter of this poem is loosely iambic pentameter. Pentameter means that each line has five pairs of syllables, for a total of 10 syllables. In each pair of syllables, the first beat is unstressed and the second beat is stressed, as demonstrated here: “Can find, | among | their burn- | ing terms | of love” (Line 3). Poe also uses irregular meter to avoid a sense of monotony or overt predictability in the poem’s rhythm; for example, this is one of the many lines in the poem that contains an extra syllable: “The ang- | els, whis- | pering | to one | anoth- | er” (Line 2). Poe breaks the metrical pattern to highlight key moments within the poem.