Epic Poetry ... poem/read dynamic

[Jasper Fidget]

On
> Behalf Of Tim Strzechowski
> 
> There are times in Shade's poem that, to me, seem to echo this "forced
> rhyme" quality, though given the overall serious tone of the poem, it can
> hardly be justified by Shade (although, as Rob has suggested, this perhaps
> adds to the parodic quality of Nabokov's aims). 
> 

Isn't this at least partly the fault of English?  Most rhymed English verse,
especially couplets, has this forced sound (to my ear anyway), and a
sing-song quality too (an effect of iambs I guess).  Poe's Raven for
instance, is another poem with a serious tone and serious themes undermined
by its structure.  Isn't this one of the reasons so many poets ditched
rhymes or worked so hard to make them more subtle?  What's the point of
rhyming anyway?  What's Shade point in rhyming "Pale Fire"?

Fidget