You cannot know  And should not bother Tide and market come and go And so shall your mother In this verse the poet uses

Analyzing the question

The question asks which rhyme scheme or form the poet uses in the four lines:

1. You cannot know
2. And should not bother
3. Tide and market come and go
4. And so shall your mother

Concept: rhyme schemes

• Alternate rhyme (ABAB): the 1st line rhymes with the 3rd, and the 2nd rhymes with the 4th.
• Couplet (AABB): two successive lines rhyme.
• Triplet: three successive lines rhyme (AAA).
• Monorhyme: all lines end with the same rhyme sound (AAAA). The option is spelled "monomyme", which is probably a typo for "monorhyme".

Working through the lines

• Line 1 ends in "know" and line 3 ends in "go". These rhyme (the /əʊ/ sound).
• Line 2 ends in "bother" and line 4 ends in "mother". These rhyme (the /ʌðə/ or /ɒðə/ sound, a near or eye-rhyme in Nigerian English).

This gives the pattern A B A B, which is alternate rhyme.

Checking the other options:

• Couplets would need line 1 to rhyme with line 2. "Know" and "bother" do not rhyme.
• Triplets would need three consecutive lines to rhyme. They do not.
• Monorhyme would need all four lines to rhyme. They do not.

Answer: A. alternate rhymes

Exam tip: Write the end-word of each line and label the sounds with letters (A, B, A, B). If the letters alternate, it is alternate rhyme. If they pair up as AABB, it is a couplet. This takes about 10 seconds in the exam hall.