We explain what a rhyme is and the ways in which this poetic element can be classified. Also, rhyme as a literary device.
What is rhyme?
The rhyme comes from Latin rhythmus (rhythm or cadence) and is an element used in the poetry. This consists of the repetition of a sound at the end of the verses of a poem. This repetition or similarity is found from the last stressed vowel of the verse.
The rhyme can be of two types:
- Rhyme. When after the last stressed vowel everything is exactly repeated sound (both vowels and consonants).
- Assonance rhyme. When only the vowel sounds are repeated and not the consonants. For example, a consonant rhyme would be "the sky led me to mourning" or "I looked out the window in the morning." Instead, assonance rhyme is "the traveler composed a sonnet."
Then verses that do not contain rhyme can be called free rhyme.
Another classification of rhymes can be made according to the syllable in which the last accent is found:
- Oxytone or acute. Last syllable, as in the case of “sang”.
- Paroxitone or severe. Penultimate syllable, for example "dream".
- Proparoxytone or esdrújula. Penultimate syllable, as "typical".
The rhyme does not always occur between two consecutive verses within a stanzaInstead, different combinations can be made, such as: “The clouds were passing / Over the youth field / I saw the leaves trembling / The fresh April rains”. Here, the word "passing" from the first verse rhymes consonant with "trembling" from the third verse; and "juvenile" does it with "April."
In this way, another classification of rhymes can be made, being:
- Continuous rhyme the one that presents the combination of verses aaaa or bbbb, that is to say that the rhyme is repeated in all the verses;
- Incandenada or crossed rhyme (abab), where there is a verse in between;
- Paired rhyme (aa bb cc) when it is in pairs in a row;
- Embraced rhyme (abba, bccb), in which one pair of rhymes is escorted by another pair at each end.
Rhyme as a poetic and literary resource
Rhyme has been used as a poetic resource since ancient times, and one of the most important exhibitors was the Spaniard Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (1836-1870), who during the Romanticism used rhyme in short poems. Others were Giovanni Boccaccio, a somewhat earlier Italian poet (1313-1375), and the Spanish Juan de Jáuregui y Aguilar (1583-1641). Today, the free or white verse (without rhyme) is predominant in poetics.
A type of poetry that uses very characteristic rhymes is Romance, which began to spread orally until it was compiled in writing around the 15th century, for which many of its authors are anonymous. They are composed of eight-syllable verses, which rhyme in pairs in an assonance way.
Rhyme is not only used in poetry, but also in songs, riddles, and tongue twisters. For example, a riddle with a rhyme would be: "In spring I delight you / In summer I refresh you / In autumn I feed you / And in winter I warm you ”.