Home › Glossary › Letter B

Bilateral rhyme

Rhyme
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

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 that mirrors symmetrically on either side of a central caesura or axis within a single line, creating internal sonic balance.

Detailed Definition
Bilateral rhyme links words across a line’s midpoint or between symmetrical positions rather than at line ends, creating internal sonic balance; this technique reinforces structural mirroring in palindromic or chiasmic forms, enhancing cohesion through non-terminal auditory echoes.
Example
Example in poetry:
Bilateral rhyme: In a Spenserian stanza (ABABBCBCC), the rhyme scheme operates bilaterally—linking quatrains and couplets through shared sounds that echo on both sides of the volta.
Additional Notes
Bilateral rhyme occurs when both halves of a line or couplet rhyme internally and externally; creates dense sonic texture, common in intricate forms like sestinas.
Also Known As
Two-sided rhyme mirrored rhyme reciprocal rhyme symmetrical sound
Skip to main content