Welcome to Part Two of our exploration and celebration of the use of rhyme in songs. The issue raised in Part One, whether songs require rhyme, and, if so, if they need to be perfect rhymes or not, is ...

Rhyme thrives at both poles of literature. It is the material of a greeting card—“Roses are red / Violets are blue / Sugar is sweet / And so are you”—and the high-tragic language of Racine. Rhyme ...