Eye Rhyme: Definition and Examples

Reading poems can be fun, thought-provoking, and relaxing. The melody and rhythm of the words, the rhymes at the end of the lines, and the beauty of the words and syllables evoke emotion like no other piece of writing can.

But have you ever read a poem that, at first glance, looks like they end with rhyming words, but when you read them aloud, they don’t actually have a rhyming sound? This is what we call eye rhyme.

In poetry, an eye rhyme is a literary device that creates imperfect rhyme using two words that are spelled in a similar way but are pronounced differently. It is also called a sight rhyme or a visual rhyme.

Examples of Eye Rhymes

We have plenty of words in English that we pronounce differently even when they end in the same letters. For example:

symmetry and sky
bough and cough
blood and brood
move and love
through and though
gone and alone
home and come
daughter and laughter
skies and enemies
lives (verb) and hives

Dutch writer Gerard Nolst Trenité wrote an amusing poem on the different ways that English words are pronounced even when they are spelled similarly. It starts off with the following verse:

Dearest creature in Creation,
Studying English pronunciation,
I will teach you in my verse
Sounds like corpse, corps, horse and worse.
It will keep you, Susy, busy,
Make your head with heat grow dizzy;
Tear in eye your dress you’ll tear.
So shall I! Oh, hear my prayer,
– Chaos by Gerard Nolst Trenité

You can read other lines from the poem here.

What Is Eye Rhyme Used For?

An eye rhyme gives us a visual impression of a rhyme, even when we don’t actually hear a rhyme when we read it aloud. This means that it appeals to our sense of sight, rather than our sense of hearing.

Although we tend to think that exact rhyme sounds better, some poets believe using exact rhyme is too limiting. Sometimes, the singsong effect of exact rhymes might also take away from the true theme of the poem. In this way, adding an eye rhyme can actually enhance the musical quality of a poem by adding a sense of surprise.

Another function of the eye rhyme is to provide the sense of repetition without sounding too mundane and predictable. This way, readers can easily memorize the text, without sacrificing its musical quality. This makes the reading more enjoyable not just in the sound of the verses, but also in the visual act of reading.

Examples of Eye Rhymes in Poems

Here are some examples to help you see how eye rhymes work:

Sonnet 19 by William Shakespeare

Devouring time, blunt thou the lion’s paws,
And make the earth devour her own sweet brood;
Pluck the keen teeth from the fierce tiger’s jaws,
And burn the long-lived phoenix in her blood.

In this poem, Shakespeare talks about how the passage of time can affect nature. As you’ll notice, the second and fourth lines end in words that end in same letters, “brood” and “blood,” but they are pronounced differently. This is a technique for making the poem sound more vibrant than just the predictable lilt that exact rhyme brings.

“The Tyger” by William Blake

Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

One of the most famous poems in English, “The Tyger” talks about the wonders of this fierce creature. But when you read it aloud, you probably notice that “eye” and “symmetry” don’t really rhyme, but they can be considered an eye rhyme.

“The Last Rose of Summer” by Thomas Moore

‘Tis the last rose of summer,
Left blooming alone;
All her lovely companions
Are faded and gone;’

In this verse, the second and last lines are eye rhymes, because “alone” and “gone” end in the same three letters, “one.” But “alone” is pronounced with the long “o” sound while “gone” uses the short “o” sound, so they don’t have a rhyming sound.

Hamlet by Shakespeare

The great man down, you mark his favourite flies;
The poor advanced makes friends of enemies.

In this pair of verses, we see the last words of both lines as eye rhymes. But did you know that in Shakespeare’s time, these two words were actually exact rhymes? Because the pronunciation of words change over time, sometimes lines written in many generations past may become eye rhymes in the present day.

Sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds
Or bends with the remover to remove

In this stanza, Shakespeare not only splits a sentence over two lines in order to make a rhyme, but he also utilizes eye rhyme with the second and fourth lines, “love” and “remove.”

“Ode to the West Wind” by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Scatter, as from an unextinguish’d hearth
Ashes and sparks, my words among mankind!
Be through my lips to unawaken’d earth
The trumpet of a prophecy! O Wind,
If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?

This beautiful poem about the wind uses eye rhyme with the words “Wind” and “behind,” although we can link an exact rhyme to the preceding stanza with the word “mankind.”

Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date.

In this sonnet, Shakespeare is comparing his loved one with summer days, and uses an eye rhyme with the word “temperate” and “date.” Despite the lack of an exact rhyming sound, the choice of words creates a soothing rhythm for the poem.

Madeline by Ludwig Van Bemelhams

“Goodbye,” they said, “we’ll come again,”
And the little girls left in the rain

In this children’s picture book written in rhyme, these two lines end in words that end in similar letters but are pronounced differently. This eye rhyme creates a surprising twist to the previous lines that have exact rhymes.

Use Eye Rhyme in Your Poems

If you love writing poetry, try adding an eye rhyme or two to your piece. Observe the sense of surprise that it evokes, and see if it doesn’t make your poem more interesting and enjoyable to read.

To write better poems, continue to practice and read more poems from some of the best poets. You’ll find more poetry resources below.

Did you find this post helpful? Let us know in the comments below!

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Yen Cabag

Yen Cabag is the Blog Writer of TCK Publishing. She is also a homeschooling mom, family coach, and speaker for the Charlotte Mason method, an educational philosophy that places great emphasis on classic literature and the masterpieces in art and music. She has also written several books, both fiction and nonfiction. Her passion is to see the next generation of children become lovers of reading and learning in the midst of short attention spans.