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Acephalous rhyme

Rhyme
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A rhyme scheme where the first syllable of a line is omitted from the rhyming pattern.

Detailed Definition
Acephalous rhyme is a rare or nonstandard term sometimes used to describe rhymes that occur unexpectedly or without conventional structural support—such as internal or slant rhymes that lack a paired counterpart—or rhymes in headless lines that defy typical end-rhyme placement.
Example
Example in poetry:
Acephalous rhyme appears in nursery rhymes like "Hickory Dickory Dock" where initial syllables are dropped for rhythmic effect; In Robert Browning’s "Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister," truncated lines create acephalous rhymes that mimic speech; Contemporary slam poetry often uses acephalous rhyme to disrupt expectations, e.g., "—ain’t got time for your lies" rhyming with "skies"; The acephalous rhyme in Yeats’s "The Second Coming": "Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world" subtly echoes with internal assonance despite missing syllables; Hip-hop lyrics like Kendrick Lamar’s "DNA." employ acephalous rhymes by eliding opening syllables for flow.
Additional Notes
A line opening without its expected first syllable. Compare with acephalous line; common in ballads and folk verse. Study tip: Look for missing beats at line starts.
Also Known As
headless rhyme decapitated rhyme
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