If you are like me, rhymes don’t often feature in the design of your poetry. I have a working knowledge of some common types of rhymes, but it is not at the top of my list when I have an idea or inspiration for a poem. Besides the more common RhymeZone, I have found the following a great help; especially with uncommon words I wished to rhyme.
rhymebrain.com
In the decasyllabic (approx 10 syllables per line) sonnet, Autumn, I posted earlier today, I had a field day with various types of rhymes. I used the rhyme scheme: abababab cdcdcd
Autumn (poetrysoup.com)
IN THE OCTASTICH (8 LINES)
Perfect/exact/strong Single Rhyme: A rhyme in which the stress is on the final syllable of the words, and the preceding consonants differ (snow, below). Identical Rhyme: The stressed vowel sound is the same—they do not satisfy the second: that the preceding consonant be different. As stated above, in a perfect rhyme the last stressed vowel and all following sounds are identical in both words (blows – when read out loud, one would not pronounce the ‘s’; the reason why a strong rhyme is important*). Trailing Rhyme: It is where a single stressed syllable word is sometimes softened by using trailing rhyme, i.e. in which one or two words trail an additional unstressed syllable behind it (lowing).
Perfect/exact Dactylic Rhyme: A rhyme in which the stress is on the antepenultimate (third from last) syllable of the words, as well as the succeeding syllables rhyme, but the preceding consonants differ. (pluvial, exuvial, induvial, fluvial)
IN THE SESTET (6 LINES)
Perfect/exact Double Rhyme: A rhyme in which the stress is on the penultimate (second from last) syllable of the words, as well as the succeeding syllables rhyme. It conforms to the definition of perfect rhyme insofar as the onset consonants are different. (fated, mated, berated)
Syllabic Rhyme: A rhyme in which the final, unstressed syllables in the words rhyme, and the stress (usually) falls on the penultimate syllable in each of the words, and where these do not rhyme. (somewhere, nowhere, elsewhere)
It is an advantage to differentiate between the types of rhymes as it will help the poet to avoid the pitfall of forced/slant rhyme, which is often frowned upon; e.g. trying to rhyme ‘sting’ and ‘sitting’. For an overview of some types of rhymes:
Rhyme - Wikipedia
[Edit 8 April 2024]
Whether considering using rhyme, perfect or otherwise, the topic will lend itself to a particular style or genre. Even the metre dictated for a particular poetic form would almost automatically exclude certain types of rhymes, e.g. a dactylic rhyme would not suit an iambic verse. The snowflakes aside, not all topics are suitable to be the subject of a poem. Well, not in the mainstream where a poet might meet with some resistance. Therefore, know your audience. I penned the following 'tanka' as an example—even a rhyme would not have saved this from the disaster it is.
huge albatross
it ate a mouse
fastidious
sushi platter
plastic chopsticks
Background: House mice that were introduced to Gough Island in the South Atlantic are attacking and killing both adult and baby albatross. Previously, scientists on the British island captured video showing the mice attacking and devouring Tristan albatross chicks, but this is the first evidence of the mice harming the adult birds.
Happy quills!
Suzette
Also see my updated article from March 2023 (edit dd 8 April 2024):
Square Pegs in Round Holes - Rhymes That Are Frowned Upon | PoetrySoup.com
*Where you need to adjust the syllable count or grammar, you may use an apostrophe to take the place of the discarded word/part of a word (As we’ve become accustomed t’ crime). When read aloud, this is not pronounced.