So, you want to rhyme? Well, there are many different types of rhyme you can choose from. Examples of rhyme mostly happen when two or more words or syllables sound similar or the same; however, don’t be caught out by this simple definition because rhymes come in many different patterns. Here we have many explanations, definitions, and examples of rhyme for kids, homeschooling, and the ELA classroom.
Imperfect Rhymes vs. Perfect Rhymes for Kids
Before setting off on our adventure into rhymes for homeschooling or the ELA classroom, it's essential that we clear up the difference between imperfect and perfect rhymes. Perfect rhymes are sometimes called full, exact, or true rhymes, and they form a relationship between two words in which the sounds and stressed syllables are identical.
5 Examples of Rhyme In Poetry and Nursery Rhymes
Perfect English Rhyme Examples
- Cook and book
- Lock and flock
- Cat and hat
- Mat and flat.
- Play and stay.
Imperfect English Rhyme Examples
Imperfect rhymes do not perfectly match rhyming schemes or syllabic stress; they have similar but not identical sounds.
- Sting and sharing
- Stirred and stared
- Hill and full
- Hat and bad.
- Love and move.
Types Of Rhyme: Definitions & Examples
Alliteration
Alliteration, head rhyme, or initial rhyme occurs when each word's first letter is repeated. Alliteration is only used with consonants and, technically, is a poetic device, not a strict rhyme.
- Little Lemony Loaves.
- Big Burgers.
- Funny Frogs Frolicking.
- Have a proper cup of coffee in a proper copper coffee pot.
Assonance
Assonance occurs when repeated vowel sounds are close to each other in words. Some people refer to assonance as a type of slant rhyme, and it's used in literature and prose. Assonance helps change the mood or atmosphere of your work. Here are some examples of rhyme using assonance:
- Dad, mad, and sad.
- Set, met, and get.
- Pool, cool, blue.
- The swimming pool is cool and blue. (Oo)
Consonance
Consonance in rhyme occurs when two or more consonants are close; instead of vowel sounds, it's consonant sounds. There are many examples of consonance in poetry and prose, and it's used to add drama or emotion. Let's take a look at a few examples of rhyme with consonance.
- Splatter, pitter.
- Whose, those, these.
- First, last, or list.
- Whose ideas were those? These are better!
End
End rhymes, syllabic rhymes, tail rhymes, or masculine rhymes occur in poetry when the ending syllables in a word of a poem rhyme. The ending of the subsequent stanza doesn't need to rhyme, but the pattern needs to be repeated at the end of some lines to make an end rhyme. Here are some examples of rhyme.
- If I weep, I'm sure I won't fall asleep.
- Pick and quick.
- Ethic, epic, and critic.
End Rhyme Examples in Poetry For Kids
"I cannot go to school today,’
Said little Peggy Ann McKay.
‘I have the measles and the mumps,
a gash, a rash, and purple bumps."
End rhyme on today and McKay and mumps and bumps.
The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost.
"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth."
End rhyme examples on both, and undergrowth, and wood and could.
Jack and Jill went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down and broke his crown,
And Jill came tumbling after.
Up Jack got, and home did trot,
As fast as he could caper,
He went to bed to mend his head,
With vinegar and brown paper.
End rhyme examples on water and after, paper and caper.
Eye Rhymes
Eye rhymes are more about the spelling of a word than the sound of it. When reading, words that look like they should rhyme but don't when spoken are eye rhymes; some examples include,
- Enemies and flies.
- Come and home.
- Loves and moves.
- Let's go to the river and listen to the water flow from where we are; I don't know how.
Feminine Rhymes
Feminine, double, triple, multiple, or extended rhyming happens when a word has a stressed syllable and an unstressed syllable that rhymes internally. Here are some examples of feminine rhyme word pairs.
- Mother and brother.
- Forsaken and waken.
- Pickle, trickle, or sickle.
- The mother and brother sat with one another.
Half Rhymes
A half rhyme is a word that doesn't blend perfectly with another word but sounds similar. A half rhyme is also known as a type of slant rhyme, oblique rhyme, or near rhyme. Let's look at some examples,
- Sponge and tongue.
- Castle and thistle.
- Pitch and width.
- He put the sponge on his tongue, and it made him run.
Internal Rhymes
An internal rhyme is when a word shares a rhyming scheme with another word in the middle of a phrase. So, for example:
- The caves are so old; the waves are so bold.
- The pig and his friend found some twigs to blend.
- The flowers are so bright; they sleep for hours at night.
Macaronic Blends
A macaronic rhyme is a word that shares a rhyming scheme with a word in a different language. For example,
- Through (English) - Déjà vu (French)
- Plan (English) - Pan (Spanish)
- Mass (English) - Glacé (French)
- At mass, they served Glacé. (French for ice cream)
Rich
Rich rhymes are the opposite of eye rhymes, these words do not share the exact spelling, but they form the same sounding rhyme.
- Maze and maize.
- Raise and raze.
- Later and alligator.
- See you later, alligator!
Scarce
This type of rhyme is imperfect and is a term used for words that don't have many rhyming pairs. For example,
- Orange and porridge.
- Wisp and lips.
- Scarce and hair.
Wrenched
A wrenched rhyme, often used in folk music, is a type of rhyme that pairs together two words with a stressed and unstressed rhyming scheme. Like the following,
- A bee and lady.
- Wasting and sing.
- Women and men.
- He was waiting to sing.
Rhyming Scheme Patterns
Every type of rhyme scheme follows a specific pattern. Let’s look at a few now!
Alternating
An alternative rhyme scheme works by rhyming the first and third lines of a stanza and the second and fourth lines of a stanza, following an ‘AB, AB ’ pattern.
A: I saw this man,
B: He looked quite old,
A: His name was Stan,
B: Or, so I’m told.
Ballade
A ballade rhyme scheme is a little more complicated but follows the same pattern each time. The rhyme scheme goes as such, 'ABAB, BCBC. '
A: She looked at me,
B: With so much grace,
A: Through the trees,
B: I saw her face.
B: Me, in my place,
C: I almost cried.
B: But without a trace,
C: She left my side.
Conclusion
These are just a couple of examples in the world of rhyme schemes, but for the most part, there aren't any limits to creativity, and we encourage you to try out any rhyme pattern that appeals to you!
So now it's time to say goodbye; we wish you well, come rain or shine! If you want to practice rhyme with your students in the ELA classroom or to empower homeschooling, check out our rhyming words practice page.