History of Rhyme
Poems are often categorised by their rhyme pattern. Through most of the history of English poetry, poets put rhyme words at the end of lines. This standard writing technique is simply called “end rhyme” poetry. After several hundred years of this practice, it becomes rather predictable.
400 years ago, most sonnets by Shakespeare and his contemporaries followed the end rhyme pattern abab, cdcd, efef, gg. This means that line 1 rhymes with line 3, and line 2 rhymes with line 4, etc. This practice dominated English poetry for hundreds of years, and can still be found in poems today.
Around 200 years ago, the pattern gradually changed. The romantic style can be observed in poems by Shelley and Wordsworth. Their poetry applied a pattern such as ababab cdcdcd ee. This means lines 1,3 and 5 rhyme together, as do lines 2, 4, and 6, etc. Even with this updated pattern, end rhyme still dominated poetry.
About 100 years ago, English poetry experienced a dramatic change. Most poetry of the last century departed from strict rhyme patterns. 20th century poets found new courage and avoided rhyming at the end of lines. Indeed, many 20th century poets completely rejected rhyming. They sought fresh poetic techniques.
Nevertheless, many people still strongly believe that poetry must rhyme. Consider the worst case of this belief, and then consider your own rhyming interests and rules.
Worst Case Rhyme: Doggerel
The worst example of rhyme occurs in doggerel. In doggerel, rhymes are the dominant feature of the poem. In fact, they are the only poetic trait of the poem. Although doggerel rhymes may sound cute or funny to the ear, such writing lacks power and insight. If you remove the rhymes, the poem reveals no other qualities.
Cheap rhymes may be suitable in greeting cards, such as “roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet, and so are you.” The casual reader may be satisfied by these sweet, sentimental lines, and this is suitable in “greeting card verse”.
Rhymes like these are effective for funny poems such as limericks. On the other hand, if your intention is serious poetry, these rhymes can be very damaging to the power of your poem.
To avoid doggerel, use rhyming techniques that require more creativity and flexibility.
Internal Rhyme
A basic procedure to get away from the practice of rhyming at the end of lines is “internal rhyme.” Internal rhyme is subtler, more secret, and less obvious than end rhyme. Internal rhymes occur anywhere in the poem, including the beginning or middle of a line. They do not follow a predictable pattern. This technique creates harmony in the poem without dominating and drawing attention to rhyme. Notice the placement of internal rhyme in the following example:
We walked for hours through the pasture
Talking of simpler things than love
Like birds who sing of flowers
Walked and talking are rhyming words at the beginning of lines 1 and 2; things and sing create harmony between lines 2 and 3; hours and flower link lines 1 and 3 together, without following an obvious pattern.
Some readers might skim right over these words and not even observe the rhymes. The rhyme is there, but, like a gentle scent of perfume, is more attractive than an overdose.
Rules of Rhyme
With due respect to Shakespeare and Shelley, here are a few “rules” to guide poets through the 21st century.
- Decide for yourself whether or not to rhyme
- It’s not necessary to follow a strict pattern of rhyme
- Whatever you decide, write as creatively as possible
- Read your poem aloud, and use sounds that interest, excite, and surpise your ears
- Don’t kill yourself forcing words to rhyme
- Words have their own will; let them flow naturally
- You are the poet; you are free
- Every writing decision is your own
- Use rhyme for fun
- Play with rhyme for invisible unity
- Don’t let rhyme be your boss
- Let rhyme bring attention to theme; that is poetry
- Don’t let rhyme bring attention to itself; that is showing off
- Make your own rules
- Don’t let rules tell you what to do with your poetry