Effect of the cross rhyme clearly explained

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The effect of poems depends to a large extent on their external form. Rhymes such as the rhyme of the cross should not only look beautiful, but have a very specific purpose.

Rhymes have an effect on the reader.
Rhymes have an effect on the reader.

The structure of the cross rhyme

Poems are highly condensed texts in terms of both content and language. This gives the formal design, e.g. the rhyme of the cross, a special meaning that goes beyond the external effect.

  • The cross rhyme describes a form of rhyme in which the end of a line of poetry rhymes with that of the next but one line. This creates the rhyme scheme a b a b.
  • An example of the cross rhyme are the first four line endings from "Wanderer's Night Song" by Goethe: Summits (a) - Ruh (b) - Wipfeln (a) - you (b).
  • The rhyme of the cross can not only contain a stanza, e.g. from the next, but on the contrary also allow the content and form of successive stanzas to merge in an elegant way. So the end of the last line of one stanza could rhyme with the end of the second line of the next stanza.

Meaning and effect of the cross rhyme

  • The cross rhyme helps, like any other formal means of Poetryto organize a poem and give it a certain timbre that underlines the effect of the content. So the reader z. B. Contextual connections opened up, as the rhyme, which takes place crosswise, connects lines with each other in terms of sound and rhythm, and a further theme can be carried along in between.
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  • Compared to the pair rhyme (a a b b), the cross rhyme opens up another space and who such a poem reads out loud, you will quickly notice that the resulting rhythm creates a kind of undulating movement that the reader does e.g. is felt to be less static than the rhythm of the pair rhyme. A somewhat longer poem can even create a kind of suction effect that makes it pleasant to follow the play of rhythm and content towards a goal set by the author.
  • By the way, rhymes don't have to be limited to the end of the line. The alliance, for example. takes place within the line by the poet using words with similar sounds.

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