End rhyme

End rhyme is the matching of sounds at the ends of two or more lines of poetry, so the lines seem to answer each other.

The nursery favorite uses end rhyme in each pair of lines, with "star" and "are" rhyming.

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are.

Jane Taylor, 1806

What it is

End rhyme is what gives a poem its familiar chime. The pattern of end rhymes across a poem is its rhyme scheme. A rhyme can be exact, as in the example, or approximate, which is a slant rhyme.

Why it matters to a writer or editor

End rhyme puts the weight on the last word of each line, so it forces choices. A word picked only to rhyme tends to show. If an end word feels like filler, rewrite the line from the other end.

Frequently asked questions

Is end rhyme the most common kind?

Yes. When people say a poem rhymes, they usually mean end rhyme, with the rhyming words sitting at the ends of lines.