thoughts-rhyme

The simplest definiton of rhyme is one in which a vowel/consonant combination echoes that of another word.. For this, sound is the final determining factor, not spelling. Thus, "rhyme" and "climb" are a rhymed pair.

The poet can use rhyme and it's variants to create auditiory effects and help control the flow of the poem. The closer together the rhymed lines are, the more obvious and strident the rhyme will sound. As the rhymes move further apart, the less obvious they become, and the softer the echo resounds. End rhyme will always be more obvious than internal rhyme, as lines that are end-stopped will show their rhyme more blatantly than those which are enjambed. By using one or more of these techniques the poet is able to emphasize selected images and, to a large extent, control the pace of the poem as understood by the reader/listener.
In addition to these structural considerations, the type of rhyme used will also affect the pace, meaning, and emphasis.

Single, or Masculine, Rhyme	The rhyme falls on a single STRESSED syllable. This is by far the most common type of rhyme in the English language. (Fair/Hair) This rhyme can be part of a polysyllabic word, but the rhymed portion must always have a stronger stress than the syllable which preceeds it. (free/vanity)
Double Full, or Feminine, Rhyme	The rhyming of two syllable words, either Iambic or Trochaic, both syllables of which are used to create the rhyming sound. (rumble/humble)
Internal Rhyme	Pattern in which at least one of the rhyming words is found within the line. In the lines below, from my poem "Mortality", one example of the form which internal rhyme can take is shown. "I fear this inward beast who feasts on logic in the night." In this example "feasts" and "beast" form an internal rhyme. Internal rhyme can also occur within a single line, the internally rhymed word most often occuring directly before an internal pause. In this case it is referred to as "leonine rhyme". It is also possible to conpose a poem entirely of internal rhyme, although whether this is useful or desirable is left to the sensibilities of the individual poet.