Alaeha Posted June 23, 2004 Report Share Posted June 23, 2004 Some of this will probably be old information to some/many of you, but I'm hoping that some of it will also be new. I know that there are some to whom almost all of this information will be new, so I'm going to cover all of what I know about the topic, so that hopefully when we get into contests and the like, people will know what they're doing, or where to find out. To begin, a Rhyme is pretty simple. Two rhyming words are words which sound alike, because they share a vowel sound, and the consonant sounds following it are identical, as in the case of Rhyme-Time-Lime-Dime, and so on. Those are perfect rhymes. Perfect rhymes can be hard to find after the second syllable though. Emission-Omission, for example, can be a hard rhyme to work into a poem; wavering-savoring would be difficult for some, as well. However, as the term "perfect" implies, there are also Imperfect rhymes. These are word sets which share the vowel sound, and have similar consonant sounds following them. Time-Line, for example, or Late-Raid. They tend to be less popular than perfect rhymes because they're less easily noticed and not guaranteed to be recognized as a valid rhyme. It can be somewhat irritating to have your poem dismissed as being "unsonnetlike" for having an imperfect rhyme in it. Visual rhymes are, ironically, more common than imperfect rhymes. These are words which look like they should rhyme, but when spoken aloud, they don't. A common example is the rhyme of Pain-Again (though some of us actually do say "again" so that it rhymes. *Pointed look at Peredhil*) There are others as well, though the only one that springs to mind is Breast-Beast. Within the world of Perfect Rhymes (Fine-Pine) there are two kinds of rhymes: Masculine and Feminine Rhymes. Which type of rhyme is being used depends on where the emphasis falls in the word. In a masculine rhyme, it falls on the last syllable in a rhyme (toDAY-oKAY, HI-PIE, etc.) If the rhyme is one syllable long, it's most likely masculine. In a feminine rhyme, the emphasis falls on the second to last syllable in the rhyme. They're rhymes like Sister-Twister or Mainly-Vainly. If this isn't clear... I apologize, I'm tired and hurried. Feel free to ask questions for clarity. Or if you know something I didn't mention, please mention it. I'm certain I don't know everything there is to know about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zadown Posted June 23, 2004 Report Share Posted June 23, 2004 Silly english. In Finnish, perfect and visual rhymes are the same thing, always. Same prolly in japanese, they seem to pronounce (when they write it with actual letters instead of kanji etc) pretty much the same as we do. Interesting stuff tho, thanks Alaeha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katzaniel Posted June 23, 2004 Report Share Posted June 23, 2004 This Masculine/Feminine stuff is new to me. What is the purpose of distinguishing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aardvark Posted June 24, 2004 Report Share Posted June 24, 2004 Gives english teachers something else to harp on about to fill a lesson or two Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaeha Posted June 24, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2004 Pretty much. It's just something that people should know about. It makes no practical difference if you have a good sense of meter, as you'll be using a word that fits the meter the same as the word it rhymes with. If you find that your rhymes start flirting with eachother, though, you're probably doing something wrong. (Unless you have deviant rhymes) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katzaniel Posted June 24, 2004 Report Share Posted June 24, 2004 Is it okay to rhyme masculine with feminine? And are you saying that in a sonnet, the rhyming words must have the same number of syllables? And, uh, how does a rhyme flirt, may I ask? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zadown Posted June 24, 2004 Report Share Posted June 24, 2004 And, uh, how does a rhyme flirt, may I ask? Surrealistically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyyark Posted June 26, 2004 Report Share Posted June 26, 2004 Actually Katz, realistically how you choose your rhymes should depend on the kind of message you want your poem to convey. My IB English 12 teacher would have me believe that great poems are not just great meaning with a great meter and catchy rhyme scheme, but one in which the meter would reflect the meaning. Now Walt Whitman (who's writing I dislike immensely for the most part) would have been utterly hypocritical (not that he isn't anyways) to have used a set meter and rhyme for his many (, many, many) poems talking about self expression (unless he was actually trying to be clever for a change and was commenting on the superficial expression of self which involves conforming to a predetermined stereo type*). Anyways just being aware that the differing types exist allows one consciously to use them for a specifically desired effect. The effect could vary from poem to poem, and I don't know any of the useful (when you read this think of this) sayings. (Not that they really apply that often, like in music everyone always teaches when you hear a major chord it sounds happy, when you hear a minor chord it sounds sad. What about those of us who think minor chords sound dynamic?) The Masculine and Feminine rhymes are actually new to me as well, but I'm sure they will be useful knowledge for my future composing and commenting. Thanks Alaeha! *Yeah that would have been an anachronism, but I still don't like his stuff.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salinye Posted July 2, 2004 Report Share Posted July 2, 2004 BUMP! Just bumping this since it is invaluable information as well as good things to be aware of with the coming poetry events. Thanks a million, Alaeha and Nyyark! ~Salinye Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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