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Backward 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 type of slant rhyme where words share initial consonant sounds rather than final ones (e.g., “spite” and “spine”), also called head rhyme.

Detailed Definition
Backward rhyme, also known as reverse rhyme or holorime, occurs when the end of one word rhymes with the beginning of another, or when words rhyme when read backward, creating a playful or disorienting sonic effect; for example, “stressed” and “desserts” form a backward rhyme, and this technique is often used in light verse, riddles, or experimental poetry to highlight the materiality of language and subvert linear reading habits through phonetic mirroring.
Example
Example in poetry:
Backward rhyme: In e.e. cummings’ “anyone lived in a pretty how town,” the slant rhyme of “sun moon stars rain” with later “down up / so / with / by” creates backward rhyme—echoes that resonate retroactively across stanzas.
Additional Notes
Rhyme reading from end toward beginning; reversal of expected direction. Related to palindrome and echo verse. Creates mirror effect. Experimental technique; use deliberately for special effects or structural play.
Also Known As
Reverse rhyme retrospective rhyme backward-looking sound inverted rhyme Retroversion rhyme reversed rhyme palindromic rhyme Contra-rime
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