Mind Rhyme
Encyclopedia
Mind rhyme is a kind of substitution rhyme similar to rhyming slang, but it is less codified.
In mind rhyme, an intended word remains unsaid, and is “heard” only in the listener’s mind. For instance, in this traditional example:
The text initiates a possible rhyme which is completed by the reader or listener.
Unlike rhyming slang, where the discipline of lexicography
is possible (e.g., “dogs” or “dog’s meat” has traditionally signified “feet”, in a multitude of contexts), mind rhyme is a one-off. In no other linguistic situation than in this immediate example will “high school” mean “fucking.”
Another example, in the context of cheerleading:
Often mind rhyme is used to circumvent a taboo
and, if anything objectionable is communicated, it occurs with the complicity of the listener. It adds a phonemic dimension to uses of double entendre
. This taboo avoidance game with the listener has been described as "teasing rhyme". Such teasing rhymes have been popular since the 17th century. Alan Bold described the 20th century anonymous bawdy poem about the "young man of Brighton Pier" as "perhaps the finest of the teasing-rhyme variety of bawdy poem". An extract will illustrate the technique:
A similar technique is employed by The Assumption Song.
Though fairly rare in canonical literature, examples of mind rhyme can be found in the work of William Shakespeare
, Emily Dickinson
, Marianne Moore
and others. In Lewis Carroll
's 'Tis the Voice of the Lobster
it is generally assumed that the last words of the interrupted poem could be supplied by the reader as "— eating the Owl".
In mind rhyme, an intended word remains unsaid, and is “heard” only in the listener’s mind. For instance, in this traditional example:
The text initiates a possible rhyme which is completed by the reader or listener.
Unlike rhyming slang, where the discipline of lexicography
Lexicography
Lexicography is divided into two related disciplines:*Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries....
is possible (e.g., “dogs” or “dog’s meat” has traditionally signified “feet”, in a multitude of contexts), mind rhyme is a one-off. In no other linguistic situation than in this immediate example will “high school” mean “fucking.”
Another example, in the context of cheerleading:
Often mind rhyme is used to circumvent a taboo
Taboo
A taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...
and, if anything objectionable is communicated, it occurs with the complicity of the listener. It adds a phonemic dimension to uses of double entendre
Double entendre
A double entendre or adianoeta is a figure of speech in which a spoken phrase is devised to be understood in either of two ways. Often the first meaning is straightforward, while the second meaning is less so: often risqué or ironic....
. This taboo avoidance game with the listener has been described as "teasing rhyme". Such teasing rhymes have been popular since the 17th century. Alan Bold described the 20th century anonymous bawdy poem about the "young man of Brighton Pier" as "perhaps the finest of the teasing-rhyme variety of bawdy poem". An extract will illustrate the technique:
- One very hot day in the summer last year
- A young man was seen swimming round Brighton PierBrighton PierThe Brighton Marine Palace and Pier is a pleasure pier in Brighton, England. It is generally known as the Palace Pier for short, but has been informally renamed Brighton Pier since 2000 by its owners, the Noble Organisation, in an attempt to suggest that it is Brighton's only pier...
; - He dived underneath it and swam to a rock
- And amused all the ladies by shaking his
- Fist at a copper who stood on the shore,
- The very same copper who copped him before.
- For the policeman to order him out was a farce,
- For the cheeky young man simply showed him his
- Graceful manoeuvres and wonderful pace...
A similar technique is employed by The Assumption Song.
Though fairly rare in canonical literature, examples of mind rhyme can be found in the work of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
, Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life...
, Marianne Moore
Marianne Moore
Marianne Moore was an American Modernist poet and writer noted for her irony and wit.- Life :Moore was born in Kirkwood, Missouri, in the manse of the Presbyterian church where her maternal grandfather, John Riddle Warner, served as pastor. She was the daughter of mechanical engineer and inventor...
and others. In Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
's 'Tis the Voice of the Lobster
'Tis the Voice of the Lobster
Tis the Voice of the Lobster is a poem by Lewis Carroll that appears in Chapter 10 of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. As recited by Alice to the Mock Turtle and the Gryphon, the first stanza describes a vain and stylish lobster who pretends not to fear sharks, but is in fact terrified by them. In...
it is generally assumed that the last words of the interrupted poem could be supplied by the reader as "— eating the Owl".
Sources
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhyme
- Abrams, M.H., A Glossary of Literary Terms, 2004.
- http://www.reference.com/browse/Rhyme