In Wordsworth's "We are Seven," how is rhythm created in this poem as you read each line?

William Wordsworth's poem, "We are Seven," is verse
written in four-line stanzas about a discussion he has with a little child regarding the
number of children in her family.

Two things seem to
provide a sense of rhythm in Wordsworth's verse. He uses rhyme. Except for the first
stanza, the author uses an ABAB rhyme scheme, where the first and third lines rhyme, and
the second and fourth lines rhyme. The essence of rhyme seems to appear as the reader
moves to meet (find) each href="http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit_terms_E.html">end
rhyme.

The pattern of rhythm
that Wordsworth follows lends itself to a rhythmic 4-3-4-3 pattern of stressed beats per
line: in other words, except for the first stanza, the first line of a stanza has four
beats, the second line, three, and so on. This is the second method Wordsworth uses to
create the poem's rhythm.

The rhythm Wordsworth employs
provides the poem with a lilting or swaying motion, most obvious when the poem is read
aloud, the optimum "delivery" for which poetry is written. It is only by reading poetry
aloud that we can experience the many "musical" qualities the poet includes in his
verse.