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cyclical 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 that cycles back to its initial rhyme sound, creating a circular or recurring structural pattern.

Detailed Definition
cyclical rhyme refers to a rhyme scheme in which end sounds repeat in a circular or rotating pattern, creating a sense of return or inevitability; common in folk ballads or ritual verse, it may involve refrains or incremental repetition that reinforces thematic motifs of fate, memory, or seasonal recurrence, and differs from linear rhyme by emphasizing continuity over progression.
Example
Example in poetry:
A rhyme scheme where end sounds repeat cyclically: ABABAB in a sestet; terza rima (ABA BCB CDC) creating cyclical interlocking; the villanelle’s repeating lines (A1bA2 abA1 abA2 abA1 abA2 abA1A2); a poem where the first and last lines rhyme, enclosing the structure in a cycle
Additional Notes
Cyclical rhyme suits ritual or meditative poems; it creates a sense of inevitability or return—common in folk ballads where fate or memory circles back on itself.
Also Known As
Circular rhyme Rotational rhyme Recurring end-sound Orbital rhyme scheme Lemniscate rhyme repetitive rhyme interwoven rhyme
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