The richness and complexity of rhyme has to a great extent been ignored. This article first examines the structural role of rhymes within metrics, illuminating its contrasted role in French and English verse. Linguistic differences and their consequences for the exploitation of various rhyme schemes in French and English are also examined—for example through a discussion of the role of rhyme in French classical drama as compared to English Restoration drama. The semantic and pragmatic consequences of rhyme are also addressed, with special emphasis on the comparative anatomy of rhyme words (morphemes, suffixes, endings) and the changed significance of rhyme with the advent of free verse.
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