Rhymes – Can English Have Words That Are Both Alliterations and Also Rhyme?

alliterationpoetic-devicesrhymes

I’m wondering whether it’s possible for words to not only alliterate with each other but also rhyme with each other at the same time. Is it?

It seems like it should be possible, especially if you allow for a different number of syllables, but I can’t find any good examples.

Is this actually possible in English?

Best Answer

There are copious examples of this, and you need not reach further than the single-syllable homophones you learned to distinguish in school:

pain/pane, rain/reign, heart/hart, raise/raze/rays, braise/brays/braze, rhos/roes/rows/rose, etc.

Rhyme/rime, even (with due credit to John Lawler above).

These single-syllable examples can be a fruitful starting point to find more. Just let your ear explore from braise, for example, and you may find berets or bourrées, which maintain the alliteration and the perfect rhyme. Rhos to rodeos, heart to handcart, and so on.

It's easy with a good rhyming dictionary, 'tis true, but 'tis more fun to let the mind wander in wonder and adapt in search of the apt.

Related Topic