Rhymes are words with similar sounds at the end of lines in poetry or normal writing. They create a pleasant sound and help with memorization and structure. Limericks use specific patterns for humor.
A rhyme is a literary term meaning that the last sounds that two or more words make sound the same or very similar. Rhymes are often seen in certain types of poetry, but are also commonly found, intended or otherwise, in normal writing and speech. The placement of rhymes in poetry is most often at the end of the lines, especially when the lines have a similar meter or number of stressed or unstressed syllables.
An example of two simple words that rhyme are “brave” and “save.” Less intuitively, however, the word “autoclave” would also be considered to rhyme with “brave” or “save”, despite the two extra syllables at the beginning. Unlike other literary terms such as alliteration, where similar sounds can occur in the beginning or middle of words, a rhyme requires both the final vowel and consonant combinations to sound the same. For example, while “barely” and “fairly” would rhyme, “bare” and “fairly” would not, although the vowel sounds remain the same.
Rhymes can also occur when two or more words together sound like another word. For example, the well-known saying “You are a poet and you didn’t even know it” rhymes because “poet” and “sai” make the same sounds. In this example, the two rhyming sounds are also positioned evenly in the meter, so if the lines were spelled differently, “poet” and “know” would both appear at the end of a line.
The technique of placing rhyming words at the end of lines of similar meter has the effect of not only tying the lines together, but also giving them a sort of pleasant song-like sound when spoken aloud. This makes the poem more appealing and also makes it easier to remember and recite. Rhymes also serve as audible markers to indicate to the listener the meter and structure of the poem. For example, if “You are a poet and you didn’t even know it” were instead written as “You are a poet and you didn’t even know it”, the saying becomes no longer memorable or pleasant to hear, and loses its poetic structure altogether. Some types of poetry, such as limericks, take advantage of this fact and use a very specific rhyme and meter pattern to make a silly or funny song memorable and enjoyable to listen to.
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