Near rhyme and perfect rhyme compared

Another name for the sound of perfect rhyme is true rhyme. Some people think that a verse is not a "true" poem unless it consists of lines that end in perfect rhyming sounds. That's why they're called "true." they believe that poets should always seek to write poems that are built around lines that end in true rhymes, and that true rhyming sounds are superior to other rhyming sounds. Nothing can be farther from the truth.

Yes, it can happen that some poets occasionally insert a near rhyme when they would prefer to use a perfect rhyme because there exist no suitable words that would produce a perfect sound match that would say what they need to say where they need to say it. But in most cases, poets employ near rhymes because they produce exactly the effect they're looking for. Dickenson' poem is a case in point.

Dickenson's poem illustrates how powerful imperfect, "weak-sounding" rhyme can be. By combining the sound of near rhyme with the structure of end rhyme, Dickenson imbues this poem with a subtlety that is entirely appropriate given its subject and message. Her extensive use of subtle rhymes and structures like these is one of the attributes of her work that ranks her among our greatest poets.

It would be incorrect to think of near rhymes as unwanted substitutes for perfect rhymes or as "lesser" rhymes. Poets employ near rhymes at different times for a multitude of different purposes. Near rhyme is recognized as a legitimate poetic technique by poets and audiences that include scholars and critics. Dickenson's poem it was not death illustrates this point dramatically.

Lao Tsu

In this section, The Muse compares the sound of near rhyme with the sounds of perfect rhyme.

• If you haven't yet explored the sound of perfect rhyme, you may want to do so now, before you consider this comparison. Do so at the page called the Sounds Of Rhyme—Perfect Rhyme: click here.

structure

Notice the parallels and contrasts between the structure and rhyming characteristics of near rhyme, masculine rhyme, and female rhyme. For example, the stressed syllables of all three of these sounds of rhyme begin with vowel and consonant sounds that are not identical; they end with sounds that are identical. Similarities like these explain why near rhymes often sound like perfect rhymes.

However, near rhyme and perfect rhyme have different structures and rhyming characteristics that account for differences in their sounds. In particular, these differences explain why near rhymes sound imperfect and masculine and feminine rhymes sound perfect. One reason they sound different: the end sounds of stressed syllables in perfect rhymes may consist of any combination of vowels and consonants, whereas the end sounds of stressed syllables in near rhymes must consist of consonant sounds.

purpose and role

Near rhymes and perfect rhymes appear in poems for different reasons, some intended by poets and some unintended by poets:

Intended near rhymes:

• With notable exceptions, near rhymes occur far less commonly in poems than do perfect rhymes. Sometimes, however, near rhymes are a mainstay of a poem or of a poet's style. For example, Emily Dickenson is famous for composing poems in which near rhymes are favored greatly over perfect rhymes. Her poem it was not death, which is excerpted above, is an example; it contains only a single perfect rhyme. Some of her poems contain no perfect rhymes at all.
   
  • See more about Emily Dickenson's poem it was not death later at the page titled XXXX:click here. [link]
     
• Some poets occasionally inject a near rhyme into a composition that chiefly contains perfect rhymes. theydo this to achieve the surprise or variety that comes when near rhymes are intermixed or contrasted with perfect rhymes.
• Poets also incorporate near rhymes into poems to generate certain kinds of aesthetic responses. theyknow, for instance, that some readers are titillated by the very fact that the sound of a rhyme is imperfect even though at first they believed it to be perfect. Poets understand that these kinds of experiences can generate intellectual or emotional pleasures in readers.
• Near rhymes sound more subtle than perfect rhymes. Poets can use these subtleties to convey ideas and create tones, qualities, and colors.

Unintended near rhymes:

The occurrence in a poem of a near rhyme is not always an event intended by the poet. Sometimes poets write near rhymes without realizing that they have done so. For example, they might compose a line to the effect that the hooch is on the couch without realizing that the words hooch and couch are located in stressed syllables and therefore form a near rhyme.

Some rhymes in poems start out as perfect rhymes and turn into near rhymes because of the ravages of time. For example, the word wind (in the sense of weather) was once pronounced to rhyme with the word wind (in the sense of winding a ball of yarn). English pronunciation changed over time so that today wind (weather) rhymes perfectly with the word sinned but imperfectly with the word wind (yarn) [link to Shakespeare example]

Unintended perfect rhymes:

The sounds of rhyme between words that nearly rhyme can be so similar that a reader who is not paying close attention can be unintentionally fooled into thinking that she has heard a perfect rhyme even when she has not.

Sonority

Compared with masculine and feminine perfect rhymes, near rhymes are thought to sound relatively soft and passive; sometimes they sound almost ambiguous. Here's why:

1. The stressed syllables in words with masculine perfect rhyming sounds tend to be the final syllables, a location that causes their sounds to seem relatively emphatic; whereas the stressed syllables in words with near rhymes can be located anywhere in the words, causing many near rhymes to sound less emphatic.
2. Words with feminine perfect rhymes contain one or more non-stressed syllables that follow the stressed syllables that rhyme, a structure that tends to emphasize the sonorities at the ends of their words. In contrast, words that contain near rhyme sounds tend to exhibit sonorities anywhere, a structure that makes them sound softer and more passive.
3. Words with sounds that nearly rhyme exhibit no actual sound identities, whereas perfect rhymes exhibit perfect sound identities. The sound matches in perfect rhyming words tend to emphasize the impact of their rhyming sounds compared with the far gentler sonorities of near-rhyming words, making perfect rhyming sounds seem much clearer, more precise, and more positive.

The notions of sight rhyme and near rhyme leave some of us in a quandary, a quandary which goes like this:

Near rhyme

Near rhyme is rhyme in that occurs when poems are heard. Either the vowels or the consonants of the stressed syllables in the words sound similar but do not sound identical, as in down and noon, years and yours, or bodies and ladies. The brain interprets them as partial sound matches, not as an exact sound matches. How can sounds match if they are not identical?

Sight rhyme

Sight rhyme is rhyme that occurs when poems are read, not heard. It consists of one or two of the final syllables (or parts of one or two of the final syllables) in two or more words are spelled identically, but when the words are pronounced they sound similar but not identical, as in alone and none.

Near rhymes are composed of words that sound alike but do not sound identical. Sight rhymes are composed of parts of words that are spelled identically but do not sound identical.

Neither near rhyme nor sight rhyme exhibit identity of sound. Moreover, sight rhyme can only be detected when it's read, not heard. Yet, by definition, rhyme is defined as identity of sound. How can near rhyme and sight rhyme be rhyme?

Well, which is it? Are near rhymes and sight rhymes rhymes, or aren't they?

To assert that near rhyme and sight rhyme are rhyme because their sounds are similar—to assert that they are partial rhymes—is to trivialize what happens when they are heard or read. Technically, there is no such thing as a partial rhyme. The full answer is more complicated than that.

experiencing near and sight rhyme

Here's what can happen when near rhyme or sight rhyme are experienced:

experiencing near rhyme—hearing

When a near rhyme is read aloud, portions of the words in the rhyme will seem to resemble each other because of the way the brain processes similar vowel sounds (as in down and noon) or similar consonant sounds (as in bodies and ladies). Other portions will not resemble each other.

The brain will detect the mixture of rhyming and non-rhyming sounds it hears and will sense a mismatch. Even though the words in a near rhyme will not sound identical when they are pronounced, the mind will be affected by the notion that a combination of sound matches and mismatches has occurred. It will analyze these similarities and contrasts and will generate a potpourri of mental and emotional reactions, all of which have potential poetic significance.

Poets can anticipate these reactions and can use them to make points and create effects.

experiencing sight rhyme—silent Reading

When a poem is read silently, the reader who encounters a sight rhyme will notice that portions of two or more words are spelled alike. His mind "feels" or senses that a rhyming match has occurred because it senses the similarity in spelling among the rhyming words.

Since the brain is busy imagining what all the words in the poem would sound like if they were heard, it applies the same logic to the words in the sight rhyme. It accepts the sight rhyme as an identity because of the visual identity, even though it knows that the words in the sight rhyme would not sound identical if they were heard.

Even though the sight rhyme is not aural and the matching words are not heard, detection of this visual identity is rewarded in a manner that is analogous to the reward that would have been experienced if a sound match had occurred. The fact that the matching words would not result in an aural echo if pronounced is irrelevant. Indeed, the fact that the visual match is only visual and not aural can itself have poetic significance that can be a source of poetic pleasure and enlightenment, as well.

Poets can anticipate these reactions and can use them to make points and create effects.

Experiencing sight rhyme—hearing others read aloud

When a listener hears a sight rhyme read aloud by others and does not follow along by reading, he has no idea that portions of the the words are spelled alike. He can only hear the sounds that are read aloud.

Assuming that he is not already familiar with the poem, this listener has no idea that a visual rhyme has occurred; he only hears words that sound similar because they contain portions that are spelled alike; he hears sounds that contain rhyming elements but that are not identical.

His reaction would be similar to the reaction he would have if he were hearing a near rhyme. However, the sounds he hears would be different from those produced by a near rhyme because the similarities are caused by words with portions that are spelled alike, not by the stressed syllables of vowels and consonants. And the strength of the rhyme would not be as great.

Poets can anticipate these reactions and can use them to make points and create effects.

Experiencing sight rhyme—reading to yourself aloud

When a reader who reads a poem aloud to himself encounters a sight rhyme he will notice that portions of the words in the sight rhyme are spelled alike. His mind "feels" or senses that a rhyming match has occurred because it senses the similarity in spelling among the rhyming words, just as if he were reading the poem silently.

But at the same time, the reader hears the sight rhyme because he is reading it aloud. His reaction will be similar to the one he would have if he heard it read aloud by others. The sounds he hears would be different from those produced by a near rhyme and the strength of the partial rhyme would not be as great, but he would realize that a sight rhyme may have been intended by the poet.

This reader/listener experiences a dual reaction to the sight rhyme. He is rewarded in both ways at the same time.

In addition, because the experience is both visual and aural at the same time, he can profit from the knowledge that the sight rhyme may have been intended by the poet to produces a partial rhyming sound because it is not a true rhyme. This disparity can itself have a poetic significance that can be a source of poetic pleasure and enlightenment, as well.

Poets can anticipate these reactions and can use them to make points and create effects.

the quandary resolved?

The fact that rhyme is defined as identity of sound means that sounds must be heard and must be identical if they are to rhyme. There is no such thing as a rhyme that is not heard when a poem is read; the concept is an analogy that represents an abstraction of the mind.

Do these facts rule out the legitimacy of the notion that near rhyme and sight rhyme are rhymes?

Despite the names given to near rhyme and sight rhyme, which are misleading, in a sense both types of rhyme can be heard to match when read aloud; they can also be heard to mismatch. The similarity and the difference of near rhyme or sight rhyme sounds is the result of the way the brain processes admixtures of sound, but it it involves rhyme all the same.

The source of confusion lies with the traditional and accepted names and definitions given to near rhyme and sight rhyme, and with the technical definition of rhyme, which is unrealistically limited. These names and definitions, not the nature of near rhyme or sight rhyme, are the cause of the quandary.

Despite these apparent contradictions in terminology, most poets accept both the formal definition of rhyme and the formal definitions of near and sight rhyme, and go right on using all of them. They don't worry about the names or definitions; they use these rhymes because they work.

In practice, poets know that near rhymes and sight rhymes produce invaluable kinds of rhyme. They use our reactions to them in all of the above situations.

Since poets use these kinds of rhyme, you should too. Key in on all kinds of poetic rhyme, not just on masculine and feminine rhyme, which are easier to understand and discern; be aware that near rhyme and sight rhyme are equally important kinds of poetic rhyme and look for them in poems.