A rhyme style is designated as the identical rhyme. For an identical rhyme the same word is rhymed. Thus, the respective rhyming words are not only the same, but also orthographically identical, since they are written in the same way. This rhyme form is very widespread in oriental poetry, whereas in German it is regarded as frowned upon and mistaken. An exception here is the intentional repetition of the word for the purpose of amplification.
Furthermore, identical rhymes are sometimes found in children’s rhymes or in popular poetry. This is partly due to the fact that this rhyme style is, on the one hand, catchy and memorable and, on the other hand, leads to a sort of singing song, which can be amplified by a couple of bandages. An example:
I long, dearest.
Would like to see you, dearest.
The above example illustrates the principle of the rhyme style and shows the repetition of the same word – here the favorite love – at the sending. What is essential here is that rhyming with the same word is sometimes not perceived as a real rhyme, since it rarely appears to be artful and monotonous.
However, an identical rhyme can have a reinforcing function or an effect when it is deliberately used to reevaluate a thought, thus reinforcing or emphasizing its importance. Another example:
We were first given love to life;
Intense as the elements
If we mix the existence of floods,
Braying heart with heart.
The floods intersect,
For the struggle of the elements
Love is the highest life
And the heart’s heart.
The above example is a stanza from Novalis’ song of the dead. The poet rhymes four verses in the same way. In this case, however, the effect which is achieved is most interesting – the verses follow the pattern abc, then d, in order to form declining cba and end with d. It seems almost as if the wave movements of the floods are modeled, which is reinforced by the identical rhyme.
In this case, the type of rhyme can be regarded as reinforcing. It is also crucial that Novalis break up monotony when he does not arrange the rhymes in pairs, but separates them from each other by means of other rhythms. Thus, the identical coefficient of friction is less obvious.
Short overview: The most important to the rhyme form at a glance
An identical rhyme is a rhyme that rhymes the same words. Thus, the absolute harmony is achieved, which, however, can sometimes be monotonous, almost boring, and has been generally regarded as a stylistic mistake in German poetry.
Formally considered, however, this rhyme form is clearly one of the pure rhymes, since there is an absolute harmony between the rhyming words and can also be regarded as a touching rhyme in most examples. Stirring means that the consonants are identical before the accented rhymes, which is given for the same words, of course.
