Half-rhyme
A rhyme using words with similar but not identical sounds, also called slant rhyme, near rhyme, or imperfect rhyme. Half-rhyme deviates from perfect rhyme, creating effects of dissonance, uncertainty, or modernity.
Real World
Wilfred Owen's 'Strange Meeting' pairs 'groined/groaned' and 'hall/Hell' as half-rhymes throughout, so the poem about meeting a dead enemy soldier never quite resolves sonically, leaving the reader unsettled—just as Owen intended.
Exam Focus
Connect half-rhyme's sonic dissonance to thematic discomfort—examiners reward linking technique to meaning, not just spotting the device.
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