Slant rhymes: What they are and how they work

Poems with clever rhyme sequences are always fun to read. Rhymes are an important part of many types of poetry and serve as a helpful way to add rhythm. But if you ever struggle to find a perfectly rhyming word for the next stanza of your poem, a good slant rhyme can also do the trick. Learn about slant rhymes and find examples to see how they look.

What is a slant rhyme?

Slant rhymes are rhyming structures with words that share similar sounds but aren’t exactly perfect rhymes. They can be words that have the same consonant sounds with different vowel sounds, or the same vowel sounds with different consonant sounds. These types of rhymes are often used in poems and song lyrics and can be a helpful way to expand your options when creating word pairings for rhyme schemes.

What are perfect rhymes?

Perfect rhymes are word pairings where the stressed vowel sounds and any other sounds that follow it are the exact same. The locations of the stressed vowel sound must also be in the same place for both words. In many cases, words that perfectly rhyme end with the same letters.

Here are some examples of words that are perfect rhymes:

Wake, bake, and take
Bark, ark, and stark
Clock, rock, and dock

Get the most out of your documents with Word

Elevate your writing and collaborate with others - anywhere, anytime

Learn more

How are perfect rhymes different from slant rhymes?

Slant rhymes are sometimes called “imperfect rhymes” because they don’t follow all of the same rules as perfect rhymes. Let’s look at some examples of slant rhymes:

Wake and wait: The words “wake” and “wait” start with the same letter and have the same stressed vowel sound, but they do not end with the same consonant sound. This type of slant rhyme is called an assonance.
Bark and break: “Bark” and “break” have similar consonant sounds, but they do not share the same stressed syllable sound. This is known as a consonance.
Clock and mohawk: While “clock” and “mohawk” are technically rhyming words, the locations of the stressed syllables are different.

Assonance and consonance in slant rhymes

Assonance and consonance are two literary devices that are closely affiliated with slant rhymes. These words often sound similar but do not necessarily have to rhyme. However, not every instance of assonance or consonance is a slant rhyme. Assonance involves words with the same stressed syllables, which can also be perfect rhymes. Here are some examples of song lyrics that use assonance in perfect and slant rhymes:

Assonance in perfect rhymes (from the Broadway musical Newsies): “This ain’t some kids with some pie in the sky, this is do it or die, this is war!”
Assonance in slant rhymes (from I Lived by OneRepublic): “I owned every second that this world could give, I saw so many places, the things that I did.”

The same rules apply to consonance as well. Words that end with the same consonant sound can be perfect or slant rhymes. Here are some examples:

Consonance in perfect rhymes (from Californication by Red Hot Chili Peppers): “Psychic spies from China try to steal your mind’s elation / And little girls from Sweden dream of silver screen quotation / And if you want these kind of dreams it’s Californication.”
Consonance in slant rhymes (from the Broadway musical Hamilton): “When he was ten his father split, full of it, debt-ridden / Two years later, see Alex and his mother bed-ridden / Half-dead sittin’ in their own sick, the scent thick.”

Find more ways to improve your poetry

Poems can be written with perfect rhymes, slant rhymes, or no rhymes at all. By diving into other types of poetry and practicing your rhyming, you can hone your poem-writing skills. Browse our writing tips and explore poem styles like haikus and sonnets, and learn about rhythm-building tools like iambic pentameter and proper punctuation.