endrhyme

Endrhyme, or end rhyme, refers to a rhyme that occurs at the ends of lines in a poem. It arises when the final stressed vowel and all following sounds in the ending words of two or more lines are identical, producing a matching sound at line endings. End rhyme is a common organizing device across many verse traditions and often helps establish rhythm, memory, and musicality. In practice, poets describe end rhyme through rhyme schemes such as ABAB, AABB, or couplets, indicating which lines rhyme with which.

End rhyme is frequently categorized by the nature of the final rhyme. Masculine endings involve single-syllable rhymes at line endings, while feminine endings involve two or more syllables with the stress on the second-to-last syllable. The term perfect rhyme (or exact rhyme) is used when the ending sounds match precisely, whereas near rhyme (or slant rhyme) is a broader category where the sounds are similar but not identical. End rhymes can also be used in various metrical contexts, from strict iambic verse to more flexible patterns.

Historically, end rhyme has been central to many English forms, including ballads, sonnets, and Psalms, where it helps to shape stanzaic structure and cadence. In traditional forms, the end rhyme pattern interacts with the poem’s meter to produce a predictable musical effect; in modern free verse, poets may use end rhyme more sparingly or for tonal contrast. Overall, endrhyme remains a fundamental element of rhyme theory and a widely used tool for shaping sound and organization in poetry.