[§ 636]. Rhyme.—In English versification, rhyme is, next to accent, the most important element. The true nature of a rhyme may best be exhibited after the analysis of a syllable, and the exhibition of certain recurrent combinations, that look like rhyme without being so.
Let the syllable told be taken to pieces. For metrical purposes it consists of three parts or elements: 1, the vowel (o); 2, the part preceding the vowel (t); 3, the part following the vowel (ld). The same may be done with the word bold. The two words can now be compared with each other. The comparison shows that the vowel is in each the same (o); that the part following the vowel (ld) is the same; and, finally, that the part preceding the vowel is different (t and b). This difference between the part preceding the vowel is essential.
Told, compared with itself (told), is no rhyme, but an homœoteleuton (ὁμοῖος, homoios=like, and τελεύτη, teleutæ=end) or like-ending. It differs from a rhyme in having the parts preceding the vowel alike. Absolute identity of termination is not recognized in English poetry, except so far as it is mistaken for rhyme.
The soft-flowing outline that steals from the eye,
Who threw o'er the surface? did you or did I?
Whitehead.
Here the difference in spelling simulates a difference in sound, and a homœoteleuton takes the appearance of a rhyme.
Bold and note.—As compared with each other, these words have two of the elements of a rhyme: viz. the identity of the vowel, and the difference of the parts preceding it. They want, however, the third essential, or the identity of the parts following; ld being different from t. The coincidence, however, as far as it goes, constitutes a point in metre. The words in question are assonances in the limited sense of the term; and because the identity lies in the vowels, they may be named vowel assonances. Vowel assonances are recognized in (amongst others) the Spanish and Scandinavian metrical systems. In English they occur only when they pass as rhymes.
Bold and mild.—Here also are two of the elements of a rhyme, viz., the identity of the parts following the vowel (ld), and the difference of the parts preceding (b and m). The identity of the vowel (o being different from i) is, however, wanting. The words in question are assonances in the limited sense of the term, and consonantal assonances. Recognized in the Scandinavian, they occur in English only when they pass as rhymes.