The Use of Rhyme in Poetry

Contrary to popular belief, poems do not have to rhyme. In fact, there are a number of forms of poems that specifically do not rhyme, such as haiku and blank verse. Free verse may occasionally rhyme, but generally does not.

There are several types of rhyme that can be used in poems.

True rhyme is what is most commonly considered rhyme. It consists of words in which the beginning sound is different but the rest of the words sound alike, though they may look different, such as true/new and sky/high.

Sight rhyme consists of words that look as if they would rhyme, but are not pronounced that way, such as home/come.

Slant rhyme, sometimes called off rhyme, consists of words that almost rhyme but not quite. Examples include brook/break and Bible/rival. Brook/break is also an example of alliteration, something you’ll learn more about in the next lesson.

In rhyming poetry, it is usually the last words of lines that rhyme.

When rhymes are found within the lines of poem rather than at the ends of lines, it is known as internal rhyme. Internal rhyme is much more subtle than rhyme that occurs at the ends of lines.

Consider this example:

The old man sang opera at the bus stop,

Italian arias while waiting for the eight o’clock.

Wait and eight rhyme, but because they are embedded in the line, the rhyme isn’t so obvious.

On the other hand, the rhyme in the following example is much more obvious:

Italian arias while we wait

For the bus that comes at eight.

When a poet chooses a word or words for a poem just so that lines will rhyme, it is known as forced rhyme. Often, this involves inverting the normal word order in a sentence in order to make something rhyme. This is a no-no in poetry. It makes the poem sound juvenile, awkward, and unnatural. Don’t do it.

Rhyme scheme refers to the order in which lines of a poem rhyme. For instance, a poem with an abcb rhyme scheme is one in which the second and forth lines (the ones designated b) rhyme. A poem with an aabb rhyme scheme is one in which the lines one and two rhyme and then lines three and four rhyme. Some poems don’t follow any particular rhyme scheme but simply include an occasion rhyme. Or course, as discussed earlier, many poems don’t rhyme at all.

Rhyming poetry is not particularly popular these days. Perhaps that is because it is so difficult to do well.

Practice

Choose a poem you have previously written that uses rhyme at the ends of lines. Make sure none of the rhyme is forced. Try rewriting the poem so that you use internal rhyme and/or slant rhyme instead.

If you want to take on a more challenging task, try writing a poem that uses true rhyme at the ends of lines without any of the rhyme sounding forced. You can use any rhyme scheme you like.