History of Rhyming [ Part 1 ]

 

In many languages, including modern European languages and Arabic poets use rhyme in set patterns as a structural element for specific poetic forms such as ballads, sonnets and rhyming couplets . Some rhyming schemes have become associated with a specific language, culture or period, while other rhyming schemes have achieved use across languages, cultures or time periods . However, the use of structural rhyme is not universal even within the European tradition. Much modern poetry avoids traditional rhyme schemes. 

The earliest surviving evidence of rhyming is the Chinese Shi Jing (ca. 10th century BC). Rhyme is also occasionally used in the Bible. Classical Greek and Latin poetry did not usually rhyme, but rhyme was used very occasionally. For instance, Catullus includes partial rhymes in the poem Cui dono lepidum novum libellum . The ancient Greeks knew rhyme, and rhymes in The Wasps by Aristophanes are noted by a translator.