Poetry Terms ( eye rhyme) - Essay Example

Poetry Terms (eye rhyme) Eye rhyme just like all the other rhymes in poetry involves repetitionof syllables usually at the end of a verse line. The repetition in this type of rhyme is not in the spelling like it is usually in other types of rhyme schemes but in the pronunciation. This therefore means that unless the poem is read out loud, just depending on looking at the spelling of the words will not enable a person notice the eye rhyme unless they are poetry experts and know all about eye rhyme.

An example of this is through and rough. They have very different spellings and have no other relationship according to other people. However once pronounced, they change and start rhyming hence beginning to make perfect sense.The eye rhyme is normally classified in the group of rhymes defined by nature of similarity. This classification is so because the rhyming words are usually similar in pronunciation and hence very easy to capture them when a poem is being read. This type of rhyming according to poets and other poetry experts is usually highly conventional that is represented in a highly symbolic form yet it is simplified at the same time and in most cases it acts as a reflection of historical changes in the pronunciation for example the words why and envy or even love, move and prove.

When said that they reflect historic times, it simply means that this type of rhyme has been there from the early years in the English poems (especially those written during renaissance period) but they have only been recognized as eye rhymes by modern poets. This is true for an eye rhyme like slaughter and laughter.Eye rhymes can also be said to be half rhymes or slant rhymes which have very slight repetition of sounds and pronunciation for example hill and full. The rhyming words are also almost close but not exact and the difference is majorly noted during pronunciation of these words as they have different spellings.

Another example of this is glorious and nefarious. The famous American poet Emily Dickinson also is fond of using half rhymes or eye rhymes in her works. This is evident in one of her poems “Hope is the thing with feathers” where there are the words soul and all (Eliopulos and Todd 48).The eye rhymes according to other poetry works are also known as sight rhymes. This is because they involve words that are similar in pronunciation but different when it comes to spelling for example sight and right.

The trick in eye rhymes for those who are not poets or poetry experts is therefore to understand the meaning of the eye rhyme so that even when presented in any of the different names mentioned above, one will not be confused. The other important trick in recognizing where there is eye rhyme in any poem is to read it out aloud or pay keen attention when the poem is being narrated because reading it silently will not bring out the rhyme and in fact may just be confusing let alone frustrating for especially students analyzing poems.

Work CitedEliopulos, Tina, and Todd, Moffett. The Everything Writing Poetry Book: A Practical Guide to Style, Structure, Form, and Expression. Oregon: Everything Books, 2005. Print.