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Ocular 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 visual rhyme where words look like they should rhyme (spelled similarly) but do not when pronounced.

Detailed Definition
Ocular rhyme, or eye rhyme, occurs when words appear to rhyme based on spelling but not on actual pronunciation (e.g., “love” and “move”), often reflecting historical shifts in English phonology; poets may deploy it deliberately for ironic or archaic effect, or it may arise unintentionally in older texts where pronunciation has since changed.
Example
Example in poetry:
"Love" and "move" form an ocular rhyme in Shakespeare’s sonnets despite differing pronunciations; Emily Dickinson’s “I heard a Fly buzz—when I died—” uses “eyes” and “flies” as ocular rhyme; Modern example: “rough” and “through” in Seamus Heaney’s “Digging” create visual but not sonic rhyme; Ocular rhyme in Audre Lorde’s “Coal”: “black” and “back” share spelling patterns but not full sound
Additional Notes
Words that look like they rhyme but sound different (love/move). Also called eye rhyme or sight rhyme. Common in historical poetry due to pronunciation shifts.
Also Known As
Eye rhyme Visual rhyme Sight rhyme Spelling rhyme
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