Difference Between Rhyme and Rhythm

Rhyme vs Rhythm
 

Rhyme, rhythm, meter, alliteration etc. are some important elements of a poem. Both rhyme and rhythm pertain to elements that are important for the ears of the listener. If you recall, poetry itself is thoughtful expression of ideas in few words to convey deep emotions and feelings. Rhyme and rhythm make it easier for the listener to pay attention to a poetry that would otherwise look very similar to a verse. Despite similarities between rhythm and rhyme, there are also differences that will be talked about in this article.

Rhyme

What do you think of when you hear the word rhyme? Nursery rhymes, right? Used in this context, rhyme refers to small poems taught to kids in kindergarten and nursery classes that have a small story expressed in a beautiful and exciting manner making use of similar sounding words after alternate lines in these poems. Matching of sounds of words is what makes rhyme possible. Children who cannot even speak a language evince great interest in poems that rhyme because they look interesting and catchy to them. Jingle, nursery rhymes, even numbers come easily to children when they are taught with matching sounds. If you remember the nursery rhyme One two, buckle my shoe, you know what I mean. It is interesting to see that other concepts too become easier to grasp by little children when they are taught using rhymes. Take a look at the following example.

Before the invention of books and the printing press, it was rhymes alone that helped people remember things easily. The great saying and proverbs of ancient times are all expressed in rhymes. Take a look.

Rhythm

Rhythm is an audible pattern that is created by stressing certain words in a poem. Accentuating, elongating, or twisting the tongue to create an audible pattern is what is meant by rhythm. You can easily understand the meaning of rhythm by tapping your feet to the effect created in this manner by the person singing a poem. It is only through singing or reading out aloud that one can get the rhythm of a poem. It is the intervals created between words using stress that is the rhythm of a poem. It is the rhythm of a poem that compels us to tap our feet or clap along with the beats of the poem.

Rhyme vs. Rhythm

• Rhyme and rhythm are important elements of a poem that make the poem appealing to the listener.

• Rhyming is the practice of choosing similar sounding words at the ends of the alternate lines of a poem.

• Rhythm is an audible pattern or effect that is created by introducing pauses or stressing certain words in the poem.

• It is easy to spot rhyme by catching the similar sounding words as in nursery rhymes.

• Rhythm creates a flow that makes it easier to follow a poem.