OF RHYME.
A rhyme must commence on an accented syllable. From the accented vowel
of that syllable to the end, the two or more words intended to rhyme
must be identical in sound; but the letters preceding the accented vowel
must in each case be dissimilar in sound. Thus "learn," "fern,"
"discern," are rhymes, with the common sound of "ern" preceded by the
dissimilar sounds of "l," "f," "sc." "Possess" and "recess" do not
rhyme, having besides the common "ess" the similar pronunciation of the
"c" and the double "s" preceding it. The letters "r" and "l," when
preceded by other consonants, so as practically to form new letters, can
be rhymed to the simple "r" and "l" respectively, thus "track" and
"rack," "blame" and "lame," are rhymes. The same rule applies to letters
preceded by "s," "smile" being a rhyme to "mile." Similarly "h" and its
compound rhyme, _e.g._, "shows," "those," "chose," and any word ending
in "phose" with "hose."
The aspirate to any but a Cockney would of course pass as constituting
the needful difference at the beginning of a rhyme, as in "heart" and
"art," "hair" and "air."[15]
In the case of "world" and "whirl'd," however, I fear common usage
must compel us to declare against the rhyme, since the practice of
pronouncing the "h" after "w" is daily becoming more and more uncommon.
Rhymes are single, double, or treble—or more properly one-syllabled,
two-syllabled, and three-syllabled. Rhymes of four or more syllables are
peculiar to burlesque or comic verse. Indeed, Dryden declared that only
one-syllabled rhymes were suitable for grave subjects: but every one
must have at his fingers' ends scores of proofs to the contrary, of
which I will instance but one—"The Bridge of Sighs."
Monosyllables or polysyllables accented on the last syllable are
"single" rhymes. Words accented on the penultimate or last syllable but
one supply "double" rhymes; _e.g._, agita´ted, ela´ted. When the accent
is thrown another syllable back, and falls on the antepenultimate as in
"a´rrogate," it is in the first place a "triple" rhyme. But as in
English there is a tendency to alternate the acute and grave accent, the
trisyllable has practically two rhymes, a three-syllabled and a
one-syllabled—thus "arrogate" and "Harrogate" rhyme, but "arrogate" may
also pair off with "mate." Nevertheless it is necessary to be cautious
in the use of words with this spurious accent—it is perhaps better still
to avoid them. Such words as "merrily," "beautiful," "purity," ought
never to be used as single-syllabled rhymes:—even such words as
"merited" and "happiness" have a forced sound when so used.
Elisions should be avoided, though "bow'r" and "flow'r" may pass
muster, with some others. "Ta'en," "e'er," "e'en," and such contractions
may of course be used. The articles, prepositions, and such, cannot in
serious verse stand as rhymes, under the same rule which condemns the
separation of the adjective from its substantive in the next line.
It is scarcely necessary to premise that to write verse decently the
student must have a thorough knowledge of grammar. From ignorance on
that score arise naturally blemishes enough to destroy verse, as they
would poetry, almost. I have seen verses which, beginning by
apostrophising some one as "thou," slipped in a few lines into "yours"
and "you"—or, worse still, have said "thou doeth," or "thou, who is."
Expletives and mean expressions also must be excluded. The verse
should never soar to "high-falutin," or sink to commonplace language.
Simplicity is not commonplace, and nobility is not "high-falutin," and
they should be aimed at accordingly;—when you have acquired the one, you
will as a rule find the other in its company.
When three or more lines are intended to rhyme together, the common
base or accented vowel in each instance must be preceded by a different
sound. For example "born," "corn," and "borne," will not serve for a
triplet, because, though the first and third are both rhymes to the
second, they are not rhymes to each other.
It is as well, unless you are thoroughly acquainted with the
pronunciation of foreign languages, to abstain from using them in verse,
especially in rhymes. I met with the following instance of the folly of
such rhyming in a magazine, not long ago—
"Prim Monsieurs fresh from Boulogne's _Bois_...
For these the Row's a certain _draw_."
This is about as elegant as rhyming "Boulogne" and "Song."
_It_ is wise—on the principle of rhyme, the difference of sounds
preceding the common base—to avoid any similarity by combination. For
example, "is" is a good rhyme for "'tis," but you should be careful not
to let "it" immediately precede the "is," as it mars the necessary
dissimilarity of the opening sound of the two rhymes.
Let the beginner remember one thing:—rhyme is a fetter, undoubtedly.
Let him therefore refrain from attempting measures with frequent rhymes,
for experience alone can give ease in such essays. Only the skilled can
dance gracefully in fetters. Moreover, a too frequent repetition of
rhyme at short intervals gives a jigginess to the verse. It is on this
account that the use in a line of a sound similar to the rhyme should be
avoided.[16]
As a final warning, let me entreat the writer of verses to examine his
rhymes carefully, and see that they chime to an educated ear. Such
atrocities as "morn" and "dawn," "more" and "sure," "light in" and
"writing," "fought" and "sort," are fatal to the success of verse. They
stamp it with vulgarity, as surely as the dropping of the "h" stamps a
speaker. Furthermore, do not make a trisyllable of a dissyllable—as, for
instance, by pronouncing "ticklish" "tick-el-ish," and if you have cause
to rhyme "iron," try "environ" or "Byron," not "my urn," because only
the vulgar pronounce it "iern," or "apron" "apern," &c.
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