Virtuoso rhymer Bob Dylan explained the delicate and singular mission of song rhyming in the first installation of this series: “You can still stay in the unconscious frame of mind to pull it off, ...

Songs are made for ears, not eyes. Because people listen to songs, you learn to write for eyeless ears. Rhyme creates the ear’s roadmap through the lyric ideas. It tells your ear where to go next, ...

Rhyme thrives at both poles of literature. It is the material of a greeting card—“Roses are red / Violets are blue / Sugar is sweet / And so are you”—and the high-tragic language of Racine. Rhyme ...

When sounds match up at the end of a line It’s called ‘end rhyme’ and sounds mighty fine So who wins the battle? And the prize of a rattle? Let’s call it a draw? Okay, that’s fine. When words have ...