Rhyme

Rhyme is the repetition of a syllable or syllables with identical or very similar sounds at the end of words. Rhyming words usually occur at the end of lines of poetry, although internal rhymes sometimes can be found. There are two basic types of rhyme:

1. Full rhyme (also called "perfect rhyme"): the final syllable or syllables end in exactly the same sounds (sang / rang). There are two types of full rhyme:
   • Masculine rhyme: one final, stressed syllable rhymes (bees / knees or at-tain / re-gain)
   • Feminine rhyme: at least two syllables rhyme and the final syllable is not stressed (mo-ther / bro-ther or com-par-i-son / gar-ri-son
2. Partial rhyme (also called "slant rhyme"): the final syllable or syllables are similar but not identical, usually examples of assonance (ruse / smooth) or consonance (groaned / ground)

When analyzing poetry, it is not enough to identify the formal rhyme scheme. You should also pay attention to the specific words the author chooses to rhyme. Are the rhyming words crucial or peripheral to the meaning of the poem? Are they similar or different in form? (Examples: knot / not--homonyms but a noun and an adverb; bee / exceedingly--different in size; Janet / upon it--one word/two words).