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Deflected 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 where the anticipated sound is subtly shifted, softened, or postponed, producing near-echoes that suggest rather than confirm sonic closure.

Detailed Definition
Deflected rhyme occurs when a near-rhyme or slant rhyme subtly diverts from a perfect sonic match, creating tension between expectation and fulfillment; it maintains musicality while introducing dissonance, ambiguity, or psychological nuance through imperfect correspondence.
Example
Example in poetry:
Emily Dickinson uses deflected rhyme: “Because I could not stop for Death – / He kindly stopped for me –”; Gerard Manley Hopkins employs slant rhyme as deflected rhyme in “The Windhover”; W.B. Yeats uses near-rhymes like “stone” / “on” in “Easter, 1916”; Contemporary poet Lucie Brock-Broido uses deflected rhyme to create unease in “The Master Letters.”
Additional Notes
Deflected rhyme diverts expected rhyme pattern at key moment. Related to broken rhyme, false rhyme. Creates surprise or disappointment. Modernists use this to subvert traditional expectations—reader anticipates rhyme that doesn't arrive.
Also Known As
Diverted rhyme Redirected chime Bent correspondence Shifted echo
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