Rhythm and rhyme

The poem “Stop All the Clocks” by W.H. Auden  resembles the style of an elegy. It is organised in quatrains, but unlike elegies which rhyme following the pattern abab, “Stop All the Clocks” rhymes in couplets - aabb:

“Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone.
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.” (ll. 1-4)

Rhythm

In “Stop All the Clocks”, the poet plays quite a bit with rhythm. Since the lines do not have an equal number of syllables, the rhythm also differs, though most of the verses use iambic pentameter: “Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone” (l. 1)

But, if you look at the next verse, you will notice the number of stressed syllables is six, changi...