Nothing disgusts the reader of verse more than an imperfect rhyme. If one is anxious to write well he should make it his business to see that every rhyme is absolutely right before a manuscript leaves his hands. Whatever sins may be original with a versifier at least he has no excuse for an unmetrical line or an untrue rhyme.
To acquire facility in rhyming it is necessary to write much and to try all styles of endings from the single rhyme to the triple. As good practice as any will be found in the use of the French forms described in [Chapter VII].
But above all one must avoid the rhyming dictionary. When the verse maker once gets the habit of referring to its pages there is more hope for the amateur popular song writer than for him. Better to think half an hour and get the right word one’s self than to tread the primrose path of the rhyming dictionary. It has one use, nevertheless, which is perhaps allowable. There are certain words, such as “chimney,” “scarf,” “crimson,” “window,” “widow,” and others which have no rhyme. To ascertain whether a word belongs to this class or not the dictionary is useful, though still a trifle dangerous.
Verse makers will rejoice to hear that “month,” once a prominent figure in this non-rhyming company, has fallen from the ranks. A new variety of butterfly has been named the “monolunth.”