Home › Glossary › Letter C

Cadential sound correspondence

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

A rhyme formed specifically at the rhythmic closing cadence of lines

Detailed Definition
Cadential sound correspondence denotes the strategic repetition or mirroring of phonemes—especially consonants or vowels—at or near line endings to reinforce a sense of closure; this technique enhances cadence through auditory symmetry, such as in alliterative or assonant echoes that bind terminal syllables into a cohesive sonic unit, deepening the impression of finality.
Example
Example in poetry:
In “The Waste Land,” Eliot links “April is the cruellest month” with “breeding / Lilacs” through cadential sound correspondence; Keats’ “Ode on a Grecian Urn” uses assonance to echo thematic permanence; Hopkins’ sprung rhythm creates cadential sound correspondence through alliteration; Sylvia Plath’s “Daddy” uses repetitive vowel sounds to unify trauma; Contemporary poet Terrance Hayes uses internal rhyme for cadential cohesion.
Additional Notes
The use of alliteration, consonance, or assonance to link the words at the end of a line or to connect the ending of one line to the beginning of the next, contributing to the sense of rhythmic finality (cadence); A subtle acoustic reinforcement of closure.
Also Known As
cadential rhyme cadence correspondence terminal sound link
Skip to main content