What Is the Rhyme Scheme of the Second Quatrain? Simple Guide

The rhyme scheme of the second quatrain is CDCD. A quatrain is a four-line stanza, and in the standard Shakespearean (Elizabethan) sonnet, the second quatrain uses fresh end-rhymes that do not repeat the sounds of the first quatrain. So the short answer: lines 5 and 7 rhyme with each other, and lines 6 and 8 rhyme with each other.

Why the Sonnet Uses Quatrains

A sonnet is a fourteen-line poem written in iambic pentameter, meaning each line carries five stressed beats set against five lighter ones. The Shakespearean or Elizabethan sonnet divides those fourteen lines into three four-line units called quatrains, followed by a two-line unit called a couplet.

Each quatrain works like a small stanza with its own rhyme pattern. The stanzas come in a fixed order, and each has a job. The first quatrain (lines 1–4) introduces the topic or image. The second quatrain (lines 5–8) develops or complicates it. The third quatrain (lines 9–12) turns or deepens the idea. The couplet (lines 13–14) delivers the closing punch or resolution.

Grouping lines into fours gives the poet a predictable unit for building an argument. The rhyme scheme reinforces that logic: a fresh pair of rhymes in each quatrain signals a shift in thought, while the final couplet’s matched pair signals closure. English poets from Shakespeare onward relied on this structural rhythm, and later Romantics such as John Keats adopted it too — a well-known example is “When I Have Fears,” which is an Elizabethan sonnet written in iambic pentameter and built from three quatrains and a couplet (Wikipedia).

Rhyme Scheme of Quatrain 2

The second quatrain follows a CDCD rhyme scheme. Lines 5 and 7 rhyme with each other, and lines 6 and 8 rhyme with each other. The letters are new: C and D appear only in this quatrain, while A and B belong to the first. That “fresh letters” rule is what keeps the poem from sounding like one long, repetitive chime.

Here is a short illustration, using a made-up quatrain so the pattern is easy to see:

The wind goes cold © across the plain, (D) a story told © before the rain. (D)

Notice that cold/told pair up © and plain/rain pair up (D). The rhymes lock the second and fourth lines together while the first and third echo each other — exactly the CDCD shape.

A Real Example

In Keats’s “When I Have Fears,” the second quatrain turns from the tangible image of “high-piled books” to abstract things like stars, cloudy symbols, and shadows. The rhyme scheme holds steady even as the imagery becomes less concrete — the lines still rhyme in a CDCD pattern. Readers can confirm the full structure through open resources such as the Poetry Foundation or the Academy of American Poets.

Two practical points help when you scan any second quatrain. Label the first quatrain’s rhymes A and B, then assign C and D to the next pair of end sounds. And ignore spelling — listen for sound. Eye rhymes, words that look alike but sound different, don’t count in this system.

Full Sonnet Rhyme Pattern

Seeing the second quatrain inside the whole poem makes the design click. The Shakespearean sonnet runs ABAB CDCD EFEF GG: each quatrain takes two new rhyme letters, and the closing couplet takes one matched pair.

So the second quatrain’s CDCD is the middle link in a chain: it follows the pattern set by ABAB, then hands a new pair, EF, to the third quatrain. The couplet’s GG finally breaks the four-line rhythm and lands the poem’s conclusion. In “When I Have Fears,” Keats uses this full pattern; the closing couplet turns on Love and Fame, which the speaker realizes he has no time to achieve.

Once you have labeled the second quatrain CDCD, you can label any Shakespearean sonnet in minutes — and you will also spot Petrarchan sonnets, which use a different eight-line unit called an octave, by their contrasting rhyme shape.

Common Mistakes When Reading Quatrains

A few recurring errors make the second quatrain harder to see than it needs to be. Counting the couplet as a quatrain shifts every letter by two lines. Assuming the second quatrain must rhyme with the first would make the whole poem one long ABAB run rather than a sequence of distinct units. And forgetting that the third quatrain takes its own fresh letters, EF, rather than returning to C or D can throw off the whole diagram. Avoiding these habits keeps the analysis accurate and makes the CDCD pattern in the middle stanza obvious.

Quatrain 2 in Petrarchan Sonnets

Not every sonnet uses the Shakespearean plan, and the second quatrain behaves differently in the Italian or Petrarchan form. That version splits fourteen lines into an eight-line octave and a six-line sestet. The octave rhymes ABBAABBA, so the second four-line unit mirrors the first rather than introducing new sounds — the opposite of the fresh CDCD used in the Shakespearean middle stanza.

Recognizing the split matters because the rhyme itself tells you which tradition you are reading. If lines 5 and 8 rhyme with each other, you are likely in a Petrarchan octave; if lines 5 and 7 rhyme instead, you are in a Shakespearean second quatrain. The distinction gives readers a fast way to place any sonnet in its correct family.

Key Takeaways

• The second quatrain rhymes CDCD — lines 5 and 7 rhyme, and lines 6 and 8 rhyme.
• Its letters are new, not recycled from the first quatrain’s ABAB.
• A quatrain is a four-line stanza; the couplet is the two-line closing unit.
• The full Shakespearean pattern is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG, with the second quatrain as the middle link.
• To label any sonnet, mark the first quatrain A–B, then assign fresh letters to each new end sound.