What is Rhyme?

THE rime is a stylistic resource widely used in poetic texts, especially in poetry, which provides sound, rhythm and musicality.

It occurs in the verses, that is, in the lines of poems, and designates the repetition of identical or similar sounds at the end of words or poetic syllables. The set of verses is called a stanza.

The verses that make up the poetic texts, and which do not have rhymes, are called white verses or loose verses. O "Straight Line Poem”From the Portuguese writer Fernando Pessoa is an example of this, since his verses do not rhyme.

“I never met anyone who had been beaten.
All my acquaintances have been champions in everything.
And I, so often paltry, so often pig, so often vile,
I so often irresponsibly parasitic,
Inexcusably dirty."

read What is Verse? and What are White Verses?

Rhyming words

  • Love: flower, heat, hummingbird
  • Life: outward, girded, harvested
  • Heart: grain, blessing, mission
  • World: fruitful, deep, yet
  • You: baby, glimpse, icing
  • Happy: bless, listen, apprentice
  • Sun: lighthouse, sunflower, nightingale
  • Happiness: guide, grew, harvested
  • Friendship: kindness, longing, will

types of rhymes

Rhymes are features classified in different ways and usually occur every two or more verses.

according to position

internal rhyme

Also called inner rhyme, it occurs in the middle of the verses. Example:

The air. The leaf. The scape.
At the lake, a circle vague.
on the face, a wrinkle
.”

(Hahaiku "the thought” by Guilherme de Almeida)

external rhyme

Also called final rhyme, it is the most used form, where the rhyme occurs at the end of verses. Example:

the poet is a pretender.
pretend so completely
who even pretends to be ache
the pain that indeed sit
.”

(Excerpt from the poem “autopsychography” by Fernando Pessoa)

According to phonetics

perfect rhyme

Also called consonant rhyme or ringing rhyme, it occurs when there is complete correspondence of sounds. Example:

you were the best kiss of mine life,
or maybe the worst... glory and torment,
with you in the light I climbed firmament,
I went through hell with you descent!

(Excerpt from the poem “A kiss” by Olavo Bilac)

Rhyme imperfect

Also called assonante, vocalic rhyme or toante rhyme, it occurs when the correspondence of sounds is only partial, in vowels. Example:

I now — that outcome!
I don't even think about you
But will never I leave
to remember that you forgot it?

(Excerpt from the poem “of the loving oblivion” by Mario Quintana)

According to accent

high rhyme

Also called masculine rhyme, it occurs in monosyllable or oxytone words. Example:

I am with you, not me see...
How many times in the book do you read
My gaze landed and was lost!

(Excerpt from the poem “Silence..." by Florbela Espanca)

serious rhyme

Also called feminine rhyme, it occurs in paroxytone words, being one of the most used. Example:

From everything to my love I will be thetenI'm
Before, and with such zeal, and always, and tanI'm
That even in the face of the greatest encantO
He is more enchanted, my thoughtsmenI'm
.”

(Excerpt from “Loyalty Sonnet” by Vinícius de Moraes)

whimsical rhyme

Occurs in proparoxytone words. Example:

claim the shoe
in reviews heaventics:
There is no more poetry,
But there are po artsétics...

(Excerpt from the poem “the frogs” by Manuel Bandeira)

According to the value

rhyme poor

Words that have the same grammatical class (noun and noun; verb and verb). Example:

When she speaks, it seems
May the voice of the breeze shut up;
maybe an angel mutes
When she speech
.”

(Excerpt from the poem “when she speaks” by Machado de Assis)

rhyme rich

Words that have distinct grammatical class. (noun and adjective; verb and adjective). Example:

Illustrious, dear and old friend,
You will know that, for an urgent reason,
On Thursday, the 9th of this month,
I really need to talk with you
.”

(Excerpt from the poem “intimate relic” by Machado de Assis)

Precious rhyme

Also called artificial and rare rhymes, these are rhymes forged with combined words that give unusual endings to rare sounds. Example:

It's a tragic, exciting party!
Inventory bacteriology
Take care of the body that rots...
And even family members gorge,
Seeing the malignant larvae that wrap themselves
On the unhealthy corpse, making a s.

(Excerpt from the poem “One Shadow's Monologue” by Augusto dos Anjos)

According to the position in the stanza

Alternating Rhyme (ABAB)

Also called cross rhyme, it occurs between odd and even verses, where the first verse rhymes with the third, and the second verse rhymes with the fourth. Example:

This woman who throws herself, cold (THE)
And she lusts in my arms, and breasts (B)
she snatches me and kisses me and babbles (THE)
Verses, vows of love and names ugly.” (B)

(Excerpt from “Sonnet of devotion” by Vinícius de Moraes)

Interspersed Rhyme (ABBA)

Also called interpolated rhyme or opposite rhyme, it occurs between the first and fourth verse, and between the second and third verse. Example:

Today, turn your face to yours side (THE)
step. And I lower my eyes if you sight. (B)
And so we do, as if with this, (B)
we could sweep our past.” (THE)

(Excerpt from the Poem "Indifference” by Guilherme de Almeida)

Paired Rhyme (AABB)

In this case, the rhyme is found between the first and second verse, and between the third and fourth verse. Example:

to those who call me congressperson (THE)
when I'm not even sworn, (THE)
To those who drool for good: teacher! (B)
I still write what I don't pay.” (B)

(Excerpt from the poem “Thanks” by Carlos Drummond de Andrade)

mixed rhyme

Also called mixed rhyme, in this case, the rhyme can be found in different moments of the poetic text, without necessarily following a pattern of position. Example:

and tell me the unknown: (THE)
"Faster! More quickly! (B)
"I'll take you to life!... (THE)
"Ends! Restart! (B)
"Transposes glories and sins!.. ." (Ç)
I don't know what voice it is That (B)
in my ears hurt: (Ç)
But I keep the anguish and the certainty (D)
to have the days counted... (Ç)
roll, like, in the current (D)
lucky if speeds up, (AND)
Between margins of sadness, (D)
no palaces of chimera, (AND)
no landscapes of bliss, (F)
with nothing of spring .. ." (AND)

(Excerpt from the poem “Isis” by Cecília Meireles)

Read too:

  • Verse, stanza and rhyme
  • Versification
  • What are Free Verses?

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