Question

Do you think the words ‘lept’ and ‘lep’ in the third stanza are spelt correctly? Why does the poet spell them like this?

Answer 1

No, the words ‘lept’ and ‘lep’ are spelt incorrectly. Their correct spellings are ‘leapt’ and ‘leap’ respectively. The poet has spelled them like this in order to maintain the rhythm of the poem. When spelled this way, they rhyme with the first part of ‘leopard’, thus giving emphasis to ‘leopard’ in each line.