What is a Masculine Rhyme?
A type of rhyme that involves matching the final stressed syllables in words.
Mastering Masculine Rhyme: When Words Get Manly
In creative writing, rhyme is an essential tool used to add music and depth to your compositions. One type of rhyme that you're likely to come across is masculine rhyme.
This type of rhyme involves matching the final stressed syllables in words. For example, the words “cat” and “hat” are considered to have masculine rhyme because they end in stressed syllables that sound the same. Similarly, “lake” and “fake” also have masculine rhyme due to the shared final stressed syllable “-ake.”
Conversely, words that end in unstressed syllables are known to have feminine rhyme. For instance, “shatter” and “matter” constitute feminine rhyme because they end in unstressed syllables that sound the same.
As you can see, mastering masculine rhyme is a vital aspect of making your writing stand out. When combined with other types of rhyme and rhythm, it can help create beautiful and memorable prose.
Gain a deeper understanding of masculine rhyme through two examples found in poetry and song lyrics.
In this famous sonnet, Shakespeare uses masculine rhyme to create a melodious and memorable tune that has withstood the test of time.
“Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? / Thou art more lovely and more temperate:”
Note how the final stressed syllables of “day” and “temperate” match, as do the final stressed syllables in “more” and “adore.”
Rapper Eminem employs masculine rhyme throughout the entirety of his hit song, 'Lose Yourself', not only adding to the song's musicality, but also making it easier for the audience to remember the lyrics.
“His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy / There's vomit on his sweater already, mom's spaghetti”
Notice how the words 'heavy' and 'spaghetti' share the same final stressed syllable, as do 'already' and 'spaghetti'.