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beginning 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

Rhyme occurring at the start of words or lines, rather than at the end

Detailed Definition
Beginning rhyme, also known as initial rhyme or head rhyme, occurs when the initial sounds or syllables of words at the start of lines or phrases match phonetically, a technique more common in Old English alliterative verse and certain modern experimental forms than in end-rhymed poetry, emphasizing sonic cohesion and oral rhythm.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Gerard Manley Hopkins’ “Pied Beauty,” “Glory be to God for dappled things—” uses “Glory” and “God” to create beginning rhyme; In Dylan Thomas’s “Fern Hill,” “Time let me hail and climb / Golden in the heydays of his eyes” features “hail” and “heydays” with initial consonant repetition (alliteration as a form of beginning rhyme); In Old English poetry like “Beowulf,” lines such as “Oft Scyld Scefing sceaþena þreatum” use alliterative beginning rhyme; In Gwendolyn Brooks’s “We Real Cool,” “Lurk late. / Strike straight.” uses initial consonant sounds (“L” and “S”) to create beginning rhyme effects.
Additional Notes
Beginning rhyme (also called initial rhyme or head rhyme) occurs when words at the start of lines share initial sounds; it’s less common than end rhyme but appears in alliterative traditions and can enhance musicality or cohesion in free verse.
Also Known As
Initial rhyme head rhyme alliterative onset front rhyme
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