Multisyllabic

Multisyllabic rhymes

Multisyllabic rhyme can occur between multisyllabic words and between multiple monosyllabic (one-syllable) words. An example of this would be rhyming 'no way' and 'snow day'. Both monosyllabic words (no way) rhyme with two other monosyllabic words (snow day).

Multisyllabic rhymes are also referred to as compound rhymes or polysyllabic rhymes.

Multisyllabic, Monosyllabic, and Syllabic Rhyme

It is important to distinguish between Monosyllabic Rhyme, Multisyllabic Rhyme, and Syllabic Rhyme.

• Syllabic rhyme is the rhyming of the last syllable of words. It is when the sound in the last syllable of word pairs is the same but does not contain stressed vowels. An example of Syllabic rhyme is pitter and patter.

• Monosyllabic rhyme is the rhyming of single-syllable words. An example of Monosyllabic rhyme is hit and sit.

• Multisyllabic rhyme is the rhyming of multiple syllables. This can be multisyllabic words, or rhyming multiple monosyllabic words with other monosyllabic words. An example of multisyllabic rhyme is gratitude (gr-ah-tih-chew-d) and latitude (l-ah-tih-chew-d) (rhyming multisyllabic words). Another example of multisyllabic rhyme is no way and snow day (rhyming multiple monosyllabic words).

Examples of Multisyllabic Rhyme

Multisyllabic Rhyme: Poetry

Gerard Manley Hopkins (Victorian-era poet) often used multisyllabic rhyme in his poetry. - pixabay

One poet who frequently used multisyllabic rhyme in his poetry was Gerard Manley Hopkins, an English Victorian-era poet. Let's examine his poem 'The Windhover ' (1877) to explore this technique. Try to spot the different types of rhyme:

• Note the first multisyllabic rhymes present here: the slant rhyme between morning (maw-ning) and dauphin (daw-fin), and minion (min-yun) and kingdom (king-dum). Both are multisyllabic slant rhymes because they have identical vowel sounds but are not perfect rhymes with identical word endings.

• Monosyllabic rhymes are also present in this poem, such as rhyming dawn with drawn.

• Hopkins uses multisyllabic rhyme again for most of the end rhymes in this poem - he rhymes riding, striding, gliding, and hiding, all of which are multisyllabic words.

Another example of multisyllabic rhyme in Hopkins' poetry is 'The Burglar's First Communion' (published 1918). Let's examine the second and penultimate stanzas:

Hopkins displays a less common form of multisyllabic rhyme - rhyming multiple monosyllabic words (boon he on) with a single multisyllabic word (Communion).

The second and third lines of the second stanza are multisyllabic end rhymes, both having identical multisyllabic endings (ow-ing).

'I cry' and 'Lie by' is another example of multisyllabic rhyme between multiple monosyllabic words.

'And roam' and 'Bound home' might be considered examples of multisyllabic slant rhyme. 'And' and 'Bound' are an example of syllabic rhyme - where the sound in the last syllable of word pairs is the same ( -nd ) but does not contain stressed vowels. Therefore although 'and' and 'bound' are not perfect rhymes, rhyming 'and roam' and 'bound home' is still an example of multisyllabic rhyme.

Multisyllabic Rhyme: Hip-Hop

Hip-hop and rap music uses multisyllabic rhyme. - pixabay

Multisyllabic rhyme is a feature of rap music, which prioritises the sonic aspects of poetry. In hip-hop, an artist's ability to craft multiple multisyllabic rhymes earns them great admiration.

One artist known for his use of compound rhymes is Eminem. Here is an example of multisyllabic rhyme in one of his verses:

Eminem rhymes the monosyllabic words 'palms are sweaty' with 'arms are heavy', 'mom's spaghetti', 'calm and ready' and 'on forgetting'. The singular words are combined to form one compound rhyme (which is why these rhymes are often referred to as compound rhymes).

Here, he uses slant rhymes to rhyme multiple syllables - 'on forgetting' and 'mom's spaghetti' do not perfectly rhyme, but their near-identical vowel sounds mean the words still sound like they rhyme.

Eminem often combines singular words to create multisyllabic rhyme. - pixabay

Let's examine the way another rap artist, MF Doom, makes use of multisyllabic rhymes in this verse:

Multisyllabic rhymes list

Here's a list of the present multisyllabic rhymes:

• Hated God - Perpetrated Odd

• Perpetrated Odd Favors - Perforated Rod Lavers

• Worst Hated - Perforated

• Flavors - Save Us

As you might imagine, writing multisyllabic rhymes is no easy feat! In rap music, multisyllabic rhyme is often accompanied by slant rhymes. As rap music is an auditory experience, the rapper's cadence (inflection of voice) will determine whether two multisyllabic phrases appear to rhyme or not.