What is rhyme?
Rhyme is the repeating of a syllable or sound at the end of words (the words don’t need to end with the same letters, just the same sound).
Notes on rhyme
Other than in poetry, people don’t often use rhyme. And whilst rhyming 2 or 3 words can add variety, 6 or 7 words will look or sound weird.
Simple examples
| The fat cat sat on the mat. | My kite is flying high in the summer’s sunny sky. |
| I love the first day of May. | Please have a look at my new book. |
Examples of rhyme in poetry
| The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea In a beautiful pea-green boat, They took some honey, and plenty of money, Wrapped up in a five-pound note. (from The Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear) | IF you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, Or being hated, don’t give way to hating, And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise: (from If by Rudyard Kipling) |
| Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate. Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer’s lease hath all too short a date. (from Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare) | You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide what to do. (from Oh, The Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss) |