Poetic Terms Dictionary
Sound Device

Slant Rhyme

Dickinson made slant rhyme her signature; Wilfred Owen used 'pararhyme' (consonance-based) for deliberate unease in World War I poetry. Now common in all contemporary verse.

Definition

An approximate rhyme in which sounds are similar but not identical — also called half rhyme, near rhyme, or pararhyme.

Example

Emily Dickinson: 'Hope' / 'stop'; 'faith' / 'breath'; Wilfred Owen: 'groined' / 'groaned'.

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