Rhyme

Rhyme is one of the basic features of traditional poetry. Typically, it consists of the lining up of two words that have the same vowel sounds but differ in their consonant sounds. For example, this is why "fog" would rhyme with "bog" and "dog". Rhyme has everything to do with sound and nothing to do with meaning. This is part of why it tends to be difficult to translate poetry into a foreign tongue.  

Defining the term

A rhyme are those songs, poems, and other literary and musical arts that use word repetition, rhythm, and cleverly-placed placed syllables that sound alike. Rap, Country Music, poetry, and comical musicals often use this form to tell a story.

Webster’s Dictionary define rhyme as “a rhyming verse; poetry; a composition in verse that rhymes; correspondence in terminal sounds of units of composition or utterance (as two or more words or lines of verse); one of two or more words thus corresponding in sound; correspondence of other than terminal word sounds.

While rhymes are often humorous, there are no criteria for jokes or comedy in order to create a rhyme.

Classifications of rhymes

There are five types of rhyme: perfect, general, identical, eye, and mind rhymes. Each classification carries a different system of rules and writing techniques. However, perfect rhymes are the most common system. 

To write a perfect rhyme, authors only need to begin with a subject. There are no set rules for what a rhyme is about. Perfect rhymes are classified by the number of syllables in each rhyme, and those are dictated by the location of the final stressed syllable. 

The classifications are single which is a rhyme that places stress on the final syllable of the words (i.e. rhyme, sublime); double is a rhyme in that places stress on the second from last syllable of the words (i.e. picky, tricky); dactylic is a rhyme that places stress on the third from last syllable (i.e. cacophonies, Aristophanes).

Authors can use these three classifications to create perfect rhymes. The only other criteria is that each rhyme must stay true to the rhythm, as well as the rhyme.

History of rhymes

Rhyme is found in most of the world’s languages and religions. In modern Europe and arabic speaking nations, poets use use a structured pattern of rhymes to accelerate its language and help articulate their poems. 

Ballads, sonnets, and rhyming couplets are the most common form of this artistic agent. And many rhyming traditions are connected with a typical language and aren't found in other cultures or time periods. And some are versatile and used in multiple languages, cultures or time periods. But the rules used in rhymes are not universal and often poets will incorporate their own unique style into the poem.

Rhymes date back more than a thousand years and are a part of ancient cultures. One of the earliest surviving rhymes is by Chinese poet Shi Jing in the 10th Century BCE. The Bible utilized many rhyming elements, and Jewish scholars show ancient Judaism incorporated this into their religion and culture as well. However, contrary to popular belief, classical Greek and Latin poetry did not use rhyme. But some Greek and Latin poets used the style in their personal creations. 

Another ancient culture to used rhymes in its art was ireland. Irish literature is known to have used this literary technique during the early Medieval culture in Europe. And in the 7th Century Irish poets perfected rhyming verses.