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Leonine 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 between the word at the midpoint of a line and the word at its end

Detailed Definition
Leonine rhyme is an internal rhyme in which the middle of a line rhymes with its end—common in medieval Latin verse (e.g., “pulchra figura, dulcis cura”) and occasionally in English heroic couplets; named after a 12th-century canon, it adds sonic density and mnemonic aid, though often criticized as ornamental excess, it can heighten musicality in narrative or liturgical contexts.
Example
Example in poetry:
Leonine rhyme in Latin hymns: “Ad coeli regem purpuratum / Sanguine martyris illustratum”; In “The Romaunt of the Rose,” Chaucer uses Leonine rhyme mid-line; Skaldic poetry employs Leonine-like internal rhyme; Modern example: “He walked the dock / beneath the clock’s tick-tock”; Leonine rhyme in Coleridge’s “Christabel”: “And Christabel saw the lady’s eye / Roll’d slow and full of meaning”
Additional Notes
Leonine rhyme: Internal rhyme between the middle and end of a single line (e.g., “pierced the air with prayer”); named after 12th-century poet Leoninus; common in medieval Latin verse.
Also Known As
Internal rhyme Mid-hemistich echo Leonine verse Within-line sound Rime léonine
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