In a Station of the Metro

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Literary Devices

Rhyme

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Literary Devices Rhyme

“In a Station of the Metro” at once approximates and disrupts the traditional couplet form. Pound plays with the couplet form in two ways. Firstly, a couplet typically works best when both lines have the same—or at least very similar—rhythm. The two lines of Pound’s poem lack this shared metrical form, creating a sense of unevenness between the two lines that diminishes the clarity of the couplet as a unified pair. Secondly, couplets must rhyme, and it’s easiest to recognize a couplet when the rhyme is strong. Pound, however, uses what’s known as slant rhyme, which refers to partial rhymes that don’t quite match up. In this case, Pound fashions a slant rhyme from two words that share the same vowel sound but end differently: “crowd” and “bough.” Technically, the shared vowel sound makes this pairing of words an example of assonance, but since the words are each positioned at the end of their respective lines, the assonance approximates a rhyme. By approximating a rhyming couplet form, Pound obliquely acknowledges a mainstay of English-language poetry. Yet he also distorts the couplet form to announce his general desire to break with established poetic tradition.