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Though “Paul Revere’s Ride” features rhyme throughout, the rhyme scheme is highly variable from stanza to stanza. Longfellow frequently moves between the use of couplets and alternating rhymes, yet neither of these patterns ever remains in place long enough even to register as a pattern. As an example of the poem’s variable rhyme, consider the first two stanzas. The rhyme scheme of these stanzas can be schematized as follows: AABBC DEDEFFGGG. Though the poem seems to begin by establishing a pattern of couplets (AABB), that pattern quickly dissipates with the fifth line, which doesn’t rhyme with anything (C). The second stanza then changes tack and inaugurates an alternating rhyme scheme (DEDE). But this too quickly falls away, subsumed by another couplet (FF), which is then followed by a triplet (GGG). Similar types of variation persist throughout the rest of the poem, never allowing a single rhyme scheme to dominate.

The effects of such a variable rhyme scheme are complex and vary from stanza to stanza. In general, however, the variable rhyme scheme has a way of forcing the reader’s (or listener’s) attention more than a more traditional, repeating rhyme scheme would be capable of. For example, if Longfellow had committed to a regular AABB or ABAB rhyme scheme, then the poem would have been quite easy to follow. The audience would quickly get comfortable with the rhythm of these short narrative units and easily get caught up in the flow of the story. However, because the rhymes are never predictable and hence don’t provide a reliable sound structure, the audience has to pay closer attention to the ebb and flow of language. In this way, “Paul Revere’s Ride” is a very writerly poem. Though the rhythms and rhymes sometimes recall the traditional ballad form, Longfellow’s poem was intended to be read quietly by the fireside rather than sung at the local pub.

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