forced rhymes
Awkward poetic matches
Forced rhymes are rhymes that feel awkward or unnatural because the writer has contorted syntax, used obscure words, or strained meaning to achieve the sound match.
The rhyme calls attention to itself rather than serving the poem: He walked into the room / And then he saw a broom feels forced because the broom has no purpose except to rhyme.
Forced rhymes often plague greeting cards, amateur verse, and song lyrics where the rhyme scheme takes precedence over sense.
- lyricSong's text
- malapropismsConfused word substitutions
- artificialMade, not natural
- winceReflexive recoil from distress
- poetryMetrical literary composition
stretch too far · awkward · verse · cringe · strained · squirm · doggerel · greeting card verse · unnatural · overediting · couplet · meters · metaphors · stanzas · limericks · enjambment · stumble · purple prose
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