Final answer:
The ABAB rhyme scheme in 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight' creates a melodic structure where alternate lines rhyme. This scheme is prevalent in many English poems, blending themes and creating rhythm, and is distinct from the interlocking tercet schemes found in works like Dante's 'Divine Comedy'.
Step-by-step explanation:
The rhyme scheme referred to in relation to Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is an ABAB rhyme scheme, which is a pattern where the first and third lines rhyme with each other, as do the second and fourth lines. This structure creates a musical rhythm and can be seen in many poems, including the excerpts provided. In the works of poets like Tennyson and Aphra Behn, this rhyme scheme helps to establish a melody and contribute to the mood of the poem.
For example, Tennyson's The Lady of Shalott not only employs ABAB rhyme scheme but also alludes to the legend of King Arthur, Sir Lancelot, and Camelot, blending romantic and gothic themes in the process. The mention of a "red-cross knight" refers to a knight bearing the emblem of a red cross, symbolizing a Christian warrior, which aside from its Arthurian associations, is a direct reference to St. George, England's patron saint.
Additionally, the poetic stanza quoted from Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is an example of a quatrain with a variety of rhyme schemes typical of English ballads. In contrast, the tercet mentioned from Dante's Divine Comedy and Robert Frost's poetry displays a complex interlocking rhyme scheme of ABA BCB, adding intricacy to the work.