Patterning in rhyme initials

Abstract

Onsets of rhymed syllables are traditionally thought to be involved in rhyming only negatively, in not exhibiting the identity found in the rhyme stems. Data from the work of five poets, however, indicate that rhyme initials are patterned in various ways with respect to each other and to their line position in couplets. These patterns, definable in terms of phonological strength and prominence, are functionally related to the more obvious phonetic correspondence of rhyme stems. Such findings necessitate revision of the traditional description of rhyme as a type of sound identity or approximation and suggest the need for quantitative linguistic analysis of prosodic devices.