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Multisyllabic

An example of multisyllabic rhyme is fluttering and spluttering. These words have identical endings (-uttering) and are both three-syllable words (flutt-er-ing & splutt-er-ing).'Multisyllabic' refers to words with more than one syllable. Multisyllabic rhyme is the rhyming of two or more syllables.Multisyllabic rhyme can occur between multisyllabic words and between multiple monosyllabic (one-syllable) words. An example of this would be rhyming 'no way' and 'snow day'. Both monosyllabic words (no way) rhyme with two other…

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Multisyllabic

Multisyllabic

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An example of multisyllabic rhyme is fluttering and spluttering. These words have identical endings (-uttering) and are both three-syllable words (flutt-er-ing & splutt-er-ing).

'Multisyllabic words' meaning

'Multisyllabic' refers to words with more than one syllable. Multisyllabic rhyme is the rhyming of two or more syllables.

Multisyllabic rhymes

Multisyllabic rhyme can occur between multisyllabic words and between multiple monosyllabic (one-syllable) words. An example of this would be rhyming 'no way' and 'snow day'. Both monosyllabic words (no way) rhyme with two other monosyllabic words (snow day).

Multisyllabic rhymes are also referred to as compound rhymes or polysyllabic rhymes.

Multisyllabic, Monosyllabic, and Syllabic Rhyme

It is important to distinguish between Monosyllabic Rhyme, Multisyllabic Rhyme, and Syllabic Rhyme.

  • Syllabic rhyme is the rhyming of the last syllable of words. It is when the sound in the last syllable of word pairs is the same but does not contain stressed vowels. An example of Syllabic rhyme is pitter and patter.

  • Monosyllabic rhyme is the rhyming of single-syllable words. An example of Monosyllabic rhyme is hit and sit.

  • Multisyllabic rhyme is the rhyming of multiple syllables. This can be multisyllabic words, or rhyming multiple monosyllabic words with other monosyllabic words. An example of multisyllabic rhyme is gratitude (gr-ah-tih-chew-d) and latitude (l-ah-tih-chew-d) (rhyming multisyllabic words). Another example of multisyllabic rhyme is no way and snow day (rhyming multiple monosyllabic words).

Examples of Multisyllabic Rhyme

Multisyllabic Rhyme: Poetry

Multisyllabic / Compound Rhyme Image of the Victorian era VaiaGerard Manley Hopkins (Victorian-era poet) often used multisyllabic rhyme in his poetry. - pixabay

One poet who frequently used multisyllabic rhyme in his poetry was Gerard Manley Hopkins, an English Victorian-era poet. Let's examine his poem 'The Windhover ' (1877) to explore this technique. Try to spot the different types of rhyme:

I caught this morning morning's minion, king-

dom of daylight's dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon, in his riding

Of the rolling level underneath him steady air, and striding

High there, how he rung upon the rein of a wimpling wing

In his ecstasy! then off, off forth on swing,

As a skate's heel sweeps smooth on a bow-bend: the hurl and gliding

Rebuffed the big wind. My heart in hiding

Stirred for a bird, —the achieve of; the mastery of the thing!

  • Note the first multisyllabic rhymes present here: the slant rhyme between morning (maw-ning) and dauphin (daw-fin), and minion (min-yun) and kingdom (king-dum). Both are multisyllabic slant rhymes because they have identical vowel sounds but are not perfect rhymes with identical word endings.

  • Monosyllabic rhymes are also present in this poem, such as rhyming dawn with drawn.

  • Hopkins uses multisyllabic rhyme again for most of the end rhymes in this poem - he rhymes riding, striding, gliding, and hiding, all of which are multisyllabic words.

Another example of multisyllabic rhyme in Hopkins' poetry is 'The Burglar's First Communion' (published 1918). Let's examine the second and penultimate stanzas:

This very very day came down to us after a boon he on

My late being there begged of me, overflowing

Boon in my bestowing,

Came, I say, this day to it - to a First Communion.

...

Seems by a divine doom channeled, nor do I cry

Disaster there; but may he not rankle and roam

In backwheels though bound home? -

That left to the Lord of the Eucharist, I here lie by;

Hopkins displays a less common form of multisyllabic rhyme - rhyming multiple monosyllabic words (boon he on) with a single multisyllabic word (Communion).

The second and third lines of the second stanza are multisyllabic end rhymes, both having identical multisyllabic endings (ow-ing).

'I cry' and 'Lie by' is another example of multisyllabic rhyme between multiple monosyllabic words.

'And roam' and 'Bound home' might be considered examples of multisyllabic slant rhyme. 'And' and 'Bound' are an example of syllabic rhyme - where the sound in the last syllable of word pairs is the same ( -nd ) but does not contain stressed vowels. Therefore although 'and' and 'bound' are not perfect rhymes, rhyming 'and roam' and 'bound home' is still an example of multisyllabic rhyme.

Multisyllabic Rhyme: Hip-Hop

Mulitsyllabic/Compound rhyme Image of DJ decks VaiaHip-hop and rap music uses multisyllabic rhyme. - pixabay

Multisyllabic rhyme is a feature of rap music, which prioritises the sonic aspects of poetry. In hip-hop, an artist's ability to craft multiple multisyllabic rhymes earns them great admiration.

One artist known for his use of compound rhymes is Eminem. Here is an example of multisyllabic rhyme in one of his verses:

His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy.

There's vomit on his sweater already, mom's spaghetti.

He's nervous. But on the surface, he looks calm and ready ...

to drop bombs. But he keeps on forgetting.

Eminem rhymes the monosyllabic words 'palms are sweaty' with 'arms are heavy', 'mom's spaghetti', 'calm and ready' and 'on forgetting'. The singular words are combined to form one compound rhyme (which is why these rhymes are often referred to as compound rhymes).

Here, he uses slant rhymes to rhyme multiple syllables - 'on forgetting' and 'mom's spaghetti' do not perfectly rhyme, but their near-identical vowel sounds mean the words still sound like they rhyme.

Multisyllabic/Compound rhyme Image of a microphone VaiaEminem often combines singular words to create multisyllabic rhyme. - pixabay

Let's examine the way another rap artist, MF Doom, makes use of multisyllabic rhymes in this verse:

The worst hated God who perpetrated odd favors ...

demonstrated in the perforated Rod Lavers.

In all quad flavors! Lord, save us!

Multisyllabic rhymes list

Here's a list of the present multisyllabic rhymes:

  • Hated God - Perpetrated Odd

  • Perpetrated Odd Favors - Perforated Rod Lavers

  • Worst Hated - Perforated

  • Flavors - Save Us

As you might imagine, writing multisyllabic rhymes is no easy feat! In rap music, multisyllabic rhyme is often accompanied by slant rhymes. As rap music is an auditory experience, the rapper's cadence (inflection of voice) will determine whether two multisyllabic phrases appear to rhyme or not.

Multisyllabic / Compound Rhyme - Key Takeaways

  • 'Multisyllabic' refers to words with more than one syllable. Multisyllabic rhyme is the rhyming of two or more syllables.

  • Multisyllabic rhyme can occur between multisyllabic words and between multiple monosyllabic (one-syllable) words.

  • Multisyllabic rhymes are also referred to as compound rhymes or polysyllabic rhymes.

  • Multisyllabic rhyme is a vital feature of rap music, which prioritises the sonic aspect of poetry.

Frequently Asked Questions about Multisyllabic

Multisyllabic rhyme is the rhyming of two or more syllables.

You can create your own multisyllabic rhymes by finding two words that have the same amount of syllables, and have the same vowels or consonants in both syllables. Think of 'fluttering' and 'spluttering.' These share the same vowel sounds in the first syllable and in the second syllable and also have the same ending consonants.

Some multisyllabic word pairs are: fluttering and spluttering, pitter and patter, gratitude and latitude, coco and loco, cheesy and wheezy.

Multisyllabic rhymes can be used in a variety of rhyme schemes, such as AA BB CC, ABAB CDCD, or AAAA AAAA.

Eminem uses both end rhyme and internal rhyme, with some of his raps having the rhyme scheme AAAA BBBB CCCC. He often uses multisyllabic rhyme in his lyrics and combines monosyllabic words to create compound rhymes across different lines.

Final Multisyllabic Quiz

Multisyllabic Quiz - Teste dein Wissen

Question

Which of these is an example of multisyllabic rhyme?

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Answer

Butter and Bitter

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Question

True or False: ‘Multisyllabic’ refers to multiple words with one syllable. 


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Answer

False - ‘Multisyllabic’ refers to words with more than one syllable.


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Question

Fill in the blanks: While _______ rhyme is the rhyming of two or more syllables, ____________ rhyme is the rhyming of single-syllable words.


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Answer

multisyllabic, monosyllabic.

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Question

What is the difference between syllabic and monosyllabic rhyme?


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Answer

Syllabic rhyme is the rhyming of the last syllable of words while monosyllabic rhyme is the rhyming of single-syllable words.

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Question

Which of the following is an example of multisyllabic rhyme?


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Answer

No way and Jose 

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Question

True or False: Multisyllabic rhyme can only occur between multisyllabic words

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Answer

False, rhyming multiple monosyllabic words with other monosyllabic words is also multisyllabic rhyme, not just rhyming multiple multisyllabic words.

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Question

What type of rhyme is this?: 


I sang a song that day

For my friend’s cat play.


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Answer

Monorhyme

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Question

Which of these is a synonym for multisyllabic rhyme?


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Answer

Compound rhyme

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Question

What genre of music is known for its use of multisyllabic rhyme?



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Answer

country

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Question

What technique is often used within multisyllabic rhymes used most frequently with?

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Answer

Slant rhyme

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Question

Which rhyme is an example of multisyllabic rhyme rhyming monosyllabic words with a multisyllabic word?


This very very day came down to us after a boon he on            

My late being there begged of me, overflowing    

        Boon in my bestowing,    

Came, I say, this day to it—to a First Communion


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Answer

‘boon he on’ and 'Communion'

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Question

True or False: Multisyllabic rhyme can only occur between two words which perfectly rhyme.


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Answer

False: Multisyllabic rhyme can also occur between words which slant rhyme.


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Question

Which of the following is not a multisyllabic rhyme?:


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Answer

Lover and Mover

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Question

Correct the incorrect word: ‘Multisyllabic’ refers to words with more than one syllable. Multisyllabic rhyme is the rhyming of two or more words.



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Answer

A: Should read ‘Multisyllabic rhyme is the rhyming of two or more syllables’, as multisyllabic rhyme can occur between multiple monosyllabic words, too.

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Question

Fill in the blanks: Syllabic rhyme is the rhyming of the _____ syllable of words. 


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Answer

last

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Question

What is the difference between multisyllabic rhyme and polysyllabic rhyme?

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Answer

Nothing, they are synonyms

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Question

What is syllabic rhyme?

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Answer

Syllabic Rhyme is the rhyming of the last syllable of words e.g ‘pitter and patter’.

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Question

What is the difference between multisyllabic and monosyllabic rhymes?

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Answer

While multisyllabic rhyme is the rhyming of two or more syllables, monosyllabic rhyme is the rhyming of single-syllable words.

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Question

What is multisyllabic rhyme?

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Answer

Multisyllabic rhyme is when words with two or more syllables rhyme (all of the syllables rhyme).

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Question

Why can multisyllabic rhyme also be known as compound rhyme?

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Answer

Multisyllabic rhyme can be known as compound rhyme because multisyllabic rhymes can occur between two sets of compounded monosyllabic words.

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Question

What do you call a word that has one syllable?

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Answer

Monosyllabic

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What do you call a word that has more than one syllable?

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Answer

Multisyllabic

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Question

What do you call a set of monosyllabic words that have multiple rhyming syllables?

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Answer

Compound rhyming words

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