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Pararhyme

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

Pararhyme (or consonance rhyme) matches identical consonant patterns while varying internal vowels, producing near-rhymes that suggest sonic unity without full echo.

Detailed Definition
Pararhyme (or half-rhyme) is a near-rhyme where consonants match but vowels differ (e.g., “groaned” and “grained”), creating dissonant yet cohesive sonic links; famously used by Wilfred Owen in war poetry to evoke unease, fragmentation, and unresolved tension.
Example
Example in poetry:
Pararhyme in Wilfred Owen’s “Strange Meeting” (“escaped/scooped”); consonantal rhyme in Dylan Thomas; modern pararhyme in Seamus Heaney’s “North”; slant pararhyme in Emily Dickinson (“room/tomb”)
Additional Notes
Near-rhyme matching consonants but not vowels (live/love, years/yours). Also called half-rhyme. Wilfred Owen pioneered modern use. Creates dissonance useful for tension, disappointment, or ironic effect.
Also Known As
half rhyme slant rhyme near rhyme imperfect rhyme
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