Rhythm is the patterned flow of sound in poetry created through combinations of words that convey a beat. Rhythm can set the sense of a story to a beat, but it can also emphasize what a writer is saying or even convey sense on its own, as in a speaker’s gestures. In traditional English poetry, rhythm is based on meter, the combination of accent and numbers of syllables.
Rhythm is natural to children. In the first months of life they wave their arms and legs to the rhythm of nursery rhymes.