Rhyme
Note: for the form of ice, see rime (ice).
A
rhyme or
rime is the association of
words with similar sounds, a technique most often used in
poetry. (Indeed, "a rhyme" is sometimes used to refer to a rhyming couplet or short verse; see
nursery rhyme.) The term has also been applied (as "sight rhyme") to words which are similar only in their written forms.
The concept of rhyme and its role in poetry vary considerably in different cultures. In
English, and most
European literary traditions, it is the final
vowel/
consonant combination that are repeated across the rhyming words. Categories of rhyme include:
- masculine: stress on final syllable of word. Eg "rhyme", "sublime", "crime"\n* feminine: stress on penultimate syllable of word. Eg "wiki", "tricky", "sticky"\n* triple: all three of a three-syllable word stressed equally\n* perfect: identical in sound\n* oblique (or slant): imperfect match in sound\n* consonance: consonant match. For example: her, dark,\n* assonance: vowel match. For example: shake, bait\n* sight (or eye): similarity in spelling although not sound. Eg "cough", "bough"\n* imperfect: rhyming a stressed and an unstressed syllable. Eg "den" and "siren"
Rhyming words are commonly found at the ends of lines. When words within a single line are rhymed, it is called an
internal rhyme.
Rhyme was unknown in
Latin poetry, until it was introduced under the influence of local vernacular traditions in the early
Middle Ages:
- Dies irae, dies illa\n:Solvet saeclum in favilla\n:Teste David cum Sybilla
In
English, elaborate rhymes of more than two syllables are termed
macaronic and have a comic effect. No English words rhyme with
month,
orange,
silver, or
purple.
In
French, the
rime riche "rich rhyme" of two syllables — and
rime richissime "very rich rhyme" of more syllables — have been admired in the past. Here is an extreme example of
rime richissime, spanning an entire verse:
- Gall, amant de la Reine, alla (tour magnanime)\n:Gallamant de l'Arène à la Tour Magne, à Nimes.
- Gallus, lover of the Queen, went (magnanimous gesture)\n:Gallantly from the Arena to the Great Tower, at Nimes.
External link
\n*Online Rhyming Dictionary\n*
RhymeZone
Category:Poetic form\n\n\n
