Rhyme and Meter
Words rhyme from the stressed vowel to the end, and each line repeats a pattern of stress.
How It Works
| Pair | Matching part |
|---|---|
| sento and vento | -ento |
| muro and turo | -uro |
| vidas and sidas | -idas |
A full rhyme matches the stressed vowel and every sound after it. Because the stress is always on the second-to-last vowel, the matching part is short, and in a word of two or more syllables the rhyme ends on an unstressed syllable.
For meter, Zamenhof used a strict system with a few small licences: stressed and unstressed syllables alternate in the same pattern all through the line, such as a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed one. The first line of La Espero, En la mondon venis nova sento, has ten syllables and five stresses, on the first, third, fifth, seventh and ninth syllables (the little word En takes the first stress because the pattern asks for one there).
Esperanto has a strong stress, so poets avoid two stressed syllables in a row. Longer words rhyme in the same way: elemento and momento match from -ento on.
Examples (5)
- sento – vento
feeling – wind
They match from the stressed vowel on, and the opening stanza of La Espero rhymes them.
- muro – turo
wall – tower
Both are stressed on u and end in -uro.
- vidas – sidas
sees – sits
The verb endings -as match, and so does the stressed i.
- elemento – momento
element – moment
Longer words rhyme from the stressed vowel to the end.
- En la mondon venis nova sento
A new feeling came into the world
This line has ten syllables and five stresses, in a pattern of stressed and unstressed.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Rhyme and meter use elision to fit a line.
Related Patterns
Practice Rhyme and Meter in Bubblegum
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