RHYMES: CHARACTERISTICS, TYPES AND EXAMPLES - LITERATURE - 2025

The rhymes are an element that adds rhythm and sound to text. This effect is clearly appreciated when being read, because at the end of each of the verses that make up the writing, the sound combinations that make it pleasant both to recite and listen to them begin to be appreciated.

A clear example is:

"That house is beautiful, (a)

that house belongs to my sister, (b)

healthy people live there, (b)

big and very small people ”. (to)

Garcilaso de la Vega

To achieve this sound effect, this “rhyme”, the writer tries to make sure that at the end of each line words whose last syllables are identical or similar coincide (just after the stressed syllable, that is, the vowel with the highest voice intonation).

The letters "a" and "b" are placed at the end of each line of writing or verse to indicate the correlation between them within the stanza. Remember that the grouping of the verses gives rise to a stanza.

A very simple example of this sonic relationship between words would be that "house" rhymes with "mass". Both words have the highest vowel intonation in the first syllable, "house" in "ca" and "mass" in "ma", respectively, and also share an identical ending: "asa".

This allows them to combine perfectly, and that combination is called “consonant rhyme”, because not only do the vowels after the so-called stressed syllable combine, but also the consonants. We will develop this point better later.

The rhyme is in effect the sound of the written words, because when they are said, emitted or declaimed, the correspondence in the timbre is perceived, that certainty of dance and dance between the phonemes, that is: the small sounds that make up each word. This allows a relationship between different verses.

Etymologically, the origin is associated with the Latin word rhythmus, and it is defined as a movement that flows through spaces of time, in a measured and regulated way, giving the expression notoriety.

Arabs and rhymes

Historically, rhyme obtained rank and renown in the Middle Ages. The Arabs, in stories and narratives, used it as a pedagogical resource to tell their fantastic stories. It was easier for people to learn a story with the use of rhymes and the sounds they provided, than without them.

The Arabs considered superstitious the fact that the words will enjoy rhythm, and certain cadences when pronounced.

The romantic movement and rhymes

Later there is the development of the so-called "romantic movement" in which several writers took their first steps in the use of rhyme, and many others achieved glory.

The most prominent of that time was the Spanish writer Gustavo Adolfo Domínguez Bastidas, better known in the literary world as Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, whose rhymes continue to make history.

In the twilight of the 19th century, and with the dawn of the 20th, there were several currents that proposed and established free verse, that is, with the absence of rhyme and meter, giving rise to a new rise of writers, and ways of seeing poetry itself.

characteristics

They can be consonant or assonance

The rhymes are characterized by being consonants and assonants, each presenting different specifications within the verses. However, based on their concept, they are identified by the prosodic accent that occurs at the end of the syllable of one or more verses.

The consonants, as mentioned in the upper part, are those where the words, after the stressed syllable, share all the following sounds and letters, for example: "owl" and "chuza"; while the assonance only share the vowels after the stressed syllable, for example: «casa» and «cada», where the «s» and the «d» make the difference.

Conditioned by the metric

When we speak of rhyme, we also refer to the metric that is present in them, that is: they are all the details that give a poetic text a beat. The meter in turn includes the study of verse, stanza and poem.

Rhyme and stanzas

Another characteristic that rhyme presents is that it can be arranged in stanzas, this refers to the set of verses that are preceded by a punctuation mark: either a full stop, a comma or a semicolon; related in turn to the rhythmic sense.

Verses of major art and verses of minor art

Something that stands out in the rhyme is the way in which they are marked or named, for the purposes of their recognition. Capital letters "A, B, C" are used to name the verses known as "major art verses", that is, those that have nine or more syllables.

In relation to the above, for the verses of minor art the same letters "a, b, c" are used, but in this case, in lower case, which means that the verses are made up of eight or fewer syllables.

Types

Although there are several types of rhymes, the most studied and used are those that refer to timbre; these are the consonants and assonants. Below are the types of rhymes:

-The consonant rhymes

These rhymes are also known as perfect. They occur when the pronunciation of consonant sounds exactly match. Another way to conceptualize it is when there is a harmonization between the vowels and consonants in the last syllable of each verse.

Pablo Neruda. Source:

This type of rhyme is considered the most difficult, since its writing is usually less loose or free, and its harmony with other verses is more limited.

Example: "limestone" rhymes in consonance with "slides".

-Assonance rhymes

These are the imperfect ones, that is: they are those where all the vowels agree or are adjusted in loudness, but the same does not happen with the consonants.

In other words: this type of rhyme occurs when there is the sole and exclusive reproduction of vowel sounds, with the accentuation of the last vowel in each of the verses.

To expand the information on the types or classes of rhyme, reference is made to their classification according to accent, disposition, and the one known as arromanzada.

Example: "unicycle" rhymes assonantly with "micro", the vowels "io" coincide in both words, but not the consonants.

-According to accent

These qualities are what determine the so-called "law of the final accent", which is none other than that which determines the exact metric of each verse according to the characteristic of the sonorous timbre of the last word of it, that is: if the word is grave, acute or spruceous. This conditioning is explained below:

Oxytone

This kind of rhyme is the one that specifies that the word that ends the verse falls within the acute classification; thus adding a syllable to the entire verse.

Examples: "more", "there", "peanut", "coffee". All words have the strongest intonation in the last syllable of each word.

The paroxitone

This type of rhyme is associated with the serious or flat quality of the classification of words, of the final word that comprises the verse. Your goal is to make the last syllables match, while keeping the accent within the penultimate syllable. It is the most used in our language.

Examples: "house", "dough", "cup", "car", "jar".

Proparoxytone

In this case, the rhyme occurs in the word esdrújula of the verse, provided it is at the end. Unlike the previous ones, a syllable is suppressed due to the length or meter of the whole.

It is worth noting that due to the scarcity of sdrújulas words with similar consonants, this type of rhyme is of very little use.

Examples: "esdrújula", "compajula", "maniac", "get down."

-According to your disposition

Continuous rhyme

We refer to this kind of rhyme when the verses are repeated throughout the entire length of the stanzas of the poem. We can observe the continuous rhyme in the poems known as popular romances, in addition to the assonance in the even verses. (See example at the end).

The twin rhyme

This rhyme is also known as pareada or par, and is the one that occurs between two verses that are followed. It refers to couplets, those stanzas that are made up of two verses.

It can be applied in verses seven and eight, such as the "real octave" which is a stanza made up of eight verses of hendecasyllable meter, in addition to consonant rhyme. (see example at the end).

Hugging rhyme

Salvador Dalí and Federico García Lorca

According to the provision, this form is also included, which is one that encloses or contains two verses with the same type of rhyme. Despite its simplicity, depending on the linguistic domain the poet can achieve great communicative results with this type of rhyme.

Cross rhyme

In this rhyme, as the name implies, there is a cross between the odd and even verses. It is also known as alternate rhyme, due to its variability. The crusade is commonly used in the "serventesios", which describes a stanza consisting of four verses of major art. (See example at the end).

Braided rhyme

It occurs when in a stanza the verses do not coincide in a row, more specifically the even verses rhyme with those of their type, and the odd with the odd. Chained triplets are a good example of braiding.

It is a resource widely exploited by current poets, especially for the versification of musical themes. (See example at the end).

The internal

To finish with the types of rhyme, as its name indicates, this is manifested in the inside of the verse, and not at the end, as is customary. It is used to generate a striking sound within the verse, a very good resource when composing songs. (See example at the end).

Examples

Rhyme

(Garcilaso de La Vega).

Assonance rhyme

I

Note that

Oxytone rhyme

(Luis de Góngora)

Paroxitone rhyme

(Antonio Machado)

Proparoxytone rhyme

I

(Anonymous)

The following is another clear example of this type of rhyme, remembering that due to its length or meter, a syllable is no longer counted, with respect to the totality:

(Ruben Dario)

Continuous rhyme

(Ramón Pérez de Ayala)

Twin rhyme

I

(Antonio Machado)

Hugging rhyme

I

(Miguel Hernandez)

Cross rhyme

I

(Ruben Dario)

Braided rhyme

(Miguel Hernandez)

References

1. Segovia, T. (2005). Reflections on the Verse. Spain: Wikipedia. Recovered from: es.wikipedia.org
2. Rima meaning. (2013). (N / a): Meanings. Recovered from: meanings.com
3. Royal Spanish Academy. (2018). Spain: Dictionary of the Spanish Language. Recovered from: dle.rae.es
4. Definition of Rhyme. (2007-2018). (N / a): ABC definition. Recovered from: definitionabc.com
5. Frau, J. (2004). The rhyme in Spanish verse: current trends. Spain: e-space. Recovered from: e-espacio.uned.es