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“Let America Be America Again” begins with a strong and clear rhyme scheme that approximates the traditional rhyme scheme of an English sonnet. An English sonnet contains fourteen lines and consists of three quatrains and a final couplet. The quatrains of a sonnet typically follow an ABAB rhyme scheme, which is precisely the form Hughes uses here. See the opening quatrain as an example (lines 1–4):

     Let America be America again.
     Let it be the dream it used to be.
     Let it be the pioneer on the plain
     Seeking a home where he himself is free.

Although today many English speakers pronounce “again” and “plain” in slightly different ways, at the time when Hughes wrote the poem, the words would have formed an exact rhyme. As such, this quatrain nicely illustrates the strict ABAB rhyme scheme. If we ignore the parenthetical lines that appear after the first and second quatrains, then the first sixteen lines of the poem essentially form a sonnet with the following overall rhyme scheme: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. This approximation of the sonnet form is significant, given that the poem’s opening section offers a decidedly old-fashioned vision of an idealized America. The use of the sonnet to deliver this idealized vision gives it an ironic force in the poem that becomes clear in the sonnet’s concluding couplet (lines 15–16):

     (There’s never been equality for me,
     Nor freedom in this “homeland of the free.”)

Following this couplet, Hughes abandons the sonnet form.

Although no more quatrains appear in the poem, rhyme does remains present throughout in a less precise and structured way. As an example, consider lines 34–38:

     I am the people, humble, hungry, mean—
     Hungry yet today despite the dream.
     Beaten yet today—O, Pioneers!
     I am the man who never got ahead,
     The poorest worker bartered through the years.

This passage doesn’t have a clearly structured rhyme scheme. Even so, different forms of rhyme do appear. For instance, “mean” and “dream” offer an example of slant rhyme, given that they share the same long E vowel sound, but conclude with different consonants. A more exact rhyme appears between the words “Pioneers” and “years.” Yet even here the rhyme pair is slightly out of balance, since “years” has one syllable and “Pioneers” has three. This looser use of rhyme allows for Hughes to break away from overly rigid poetic forms without entirely rejecting rhyme. Indeed, his varied and select use of rhyme continues to elevate the poem and support its ultimate message about what American really could be.

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