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Half 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 near or slant rhyme where final consonants or vowels partially match (e.g., “love”/“move”), creating subtle sonic resonance.

Detailed Definition
Half rhyme, also known as slant rhyme or near rhyme, occurs when words share similar but not identical sounds, typically matching consonants while differing in vowels (e.g., "worm" and "swarm") or vice versa; it offers poets greater flexibility in word choice while maintaining sonic cohesion, and is notably used by Emily Dickinson and W.B. Yeats to create subtle, unresolved musicality.
Example
Example in poetry:
Wilfred Owen’s “Strange Meeting” uses half rhyme: “escaped/scooped”; Emily Dickinson’s slant rhymes: “room/storm”; W.B. Yeats: “cold/cried”; modern example: Seamus Heaney’s “Follower” rhymes “plough/through”; half rhyme (consonance or assonance without full match) creates subtle sonic links; it’s common in free verse and modern lyric for emotional unease.
Additional Notes
Half rhyme (or slant rhyme) matches consonants or vowels imperfectly (e.g., “worm”/“swarm”); it offers flexibility in sound patterning and is central to modern poetry (e.g., Dickinson, Heaney) for subtle musicality.
Also Known As
slant rhyme near rhyme off rhyme Subtle rhyme Weak rhyme Consonant rhyme Pararhyme partial rhyme Consonantal rhyme Consonance
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