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Delicate 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 based on faint, nuanced, or partial sonic similarities—such as shared consonants or assonance—rather than full end-rhyme correspondence.

Detailed Definition
Delicate rhyme describes a subtle, understated rhyme that avoids obvious or forceful sonic matches, often using slant rhymes, assonance, or consonance to create a nuanced musicality; poets like Elizabeth Bishop or W.H. Auden employ delicate rhymes to maintain lyrical grace without drawing overt attention to the rhyme scheme itself.
Example
Example in poetry:
Delicate rhyme soft and subtle sound echo; Whispered rhyme suggesting gentleness; Feminine rhyme with unstressed endings; Slant rhyme producing quiet resonance
Additional Notes
Delicate rhyme: A gentle, often subtle rhyme; involves sounds that are very close but not perfect, sometimes relying on slight vowel or consonant variations (e.g., 'love' and 'move' historically; or slight variations like 'shape' and 'cape'). Related: Slant rhyme (or near rhyme), which is a broader category for imperfect rhymes; use of delicate rhyme can soften the tone and avoid the predictability of perfect rhyme.
Also Known As
Gentle rhyme fragile rhyme tender rhyme subtle rhyme Cobweb rhyme
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