Rhyme and its phonostylistic features contents

2.2 Rhyme in literature
When you read a poem, the differences between written prose and poetic language often stand out immediately. The most apparent differences are two of the most basic qualities of poetry: rhyme and meter. We hope to give you an overview of both concepts which are helpful to know when reading a poem. Rhyme has played a huge part in literature over many millennia of human existence. The earliest known example is from a Chinese text written in the 10th century BC. Indeed, rhyme has been found in many cultures and many eras. Rhyme also plays different parts in different cultures, holding almost mystical meaning in some cultures. Several religious texts display examples of rhyme, including the Qur’an and the Bible. Interestingly, though, rhyme schemes go in and out of favor. The types of poetry that were once popular in the English language, especially, are no longer very common. For example, in Shakespeare’s day the sonnet form, with its rhyming quatrains and final rhyming couplet was popular (indeed, Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets himself). However, it is very unusual for contemporary poets to adhere to such strict rhyme schemes.Rhyme is often easy for native speakers in a language to hear. It is used as a literacy skill with young children for them to hear phonemes. Authors often use rhyme to make their lines more memorable and to signal the ends of lines. Rhyme is often easy for native speakers in a language to hear. It is used as a literacy skill with young children for them to hear phonemes. Authors often use rhyme to make their lines more memorable and to signal the ends of lines.

Examples of Rhyme in Literature

Example #1
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:

(“Sonnet 18” by William Shakespeare)

William Shakespeare includes many rhyme examples in his plays. All of his sonnets followed the very strict sonnet form of containing three rhyming quatrains and one final rhyming couplet. The above excerpt comes from arguably his most famous sonnet, “Sonnet 18.” The opening line is familiar to many English speakers. It is just one of hundreds of examples of rhyme in his works. One interesting note is that due to the way that the sound of English has changed over the past four to five hundred years, some of Shakespeare’s rhymes no longer are perfect rhymes, such as the rhyme between “temperate” and “date.” However, it is easy to hear countless examples of rhymes in his works, such as the words “day” and “May” in this excerpt.

Example #2
Keeping time, time, time,
As he knells, knells, knells,
In a happy Runic rhyme,
To the rolling of the bells–
Of the bells, bells, bells–
To the tolling of the bells,
Of the bells, bells, bells, bells–
Bells, bells, bells–
To the moaning and the groaning of the bells.
(“The Bells” by Edgar Allen Poe)
Edgar Allen employed rhyme in many of his poems. In “The Bells,” Poe uses rhyme not only to end lines, but also in the middle of lines, such as his rhyme of “rolling” and “tolling,” in the middle of two adjacent lines. He also uses the rhyme of “moaning” and “groaning” in the same line. This example of rhyme adds to the rhythm of the poem in that it impels the reader forward, just as the tolling of the bells compels the listener to act.