ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

I "hear" what you are saying John. I guess some words might have come from the French or other languages too and the pronounciation changes when they become English words.

Heather

Chicken?????

I knew Peely was about and he is a bit of a technical buff, so I wanted to make room for his expertise to shine.

Heather, my theory is that sight rhymes have come about because English is a language that has so few rhymes ( Italian and French for example have plenty of rhyming endings )
I think we all know how frustrating it can be at times, trying to find a rhyme and use the word that we need to use, and sight rhyme is one device to extend the number of rhymes available.

The book that Peely referred to ( Stillman, The Poets Manual ) calls this type of rhyme, spelling rhyme and gives examples such as love/move, find/wind ( the blowing wind )
bough/though.

I have no interest in using this device, I think it seems too forced and distracting.

Sight rhymes work on the WRITTEN page because the look the same. They were acceptable among the classical English poets and probably are still used by other (than our breed) of contemporary poets. I have also recently noticed how many acknowledged poets used and still use NEAR rhymes. That is words that almost rhyme but actually do not.
Remember someone asking what happens to scansion if the reader has for instance an American, Irish or Welsh etcetera accent which can mean they place the stress on their syllables in a different manner to English speakers. Well we have an Irish chap in the Gosford Bush Poets and when he reads he demonstrates that this is indeed the case.

Vic

I don't like them, but then I think poetry should be "heard" and not just "seen".

Heather

I LOVE a good debate. Wish I had started this one!

They may look ok on the page but the proof is in as Heather mentioned the reading then they very seldom work.

Bob

David Campbell wrote:
I dunno, Frank...American pronunciation leaves me quite at a lauce.

David please define lauce.

TTFN

Oh am I being thick...LOSS