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Rhythm | Definition

By Kedar N. Sharma

September 24, 2026 7:30 AM

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Rhythm is a music effect in the poetry which can’t be apparently seen as meter; rather it can be grasped through the quality of music. Usually rhythm is flourished with the use of alliteration, assonance and other punctuation mark.

Rhythm is a temporal pattern formed by the succession of strong and weak elements. All language has its own natural rhythm. Meter is simply a rhythm that has been chosen by the poet and which he repeats and uses consistently over the length of a stanza or complete poem. If you read poetry out aloud, you will notice that different poems have different patterns of stress. A shorter line of a poem usually has quicker rhythm; a long line usually has a slower rhythm. These differences can be called differences in the rhythm of poetry.

Kedar N. Sharma

Kedar N. Sharma is an experienced literary expert and analyst with a postgraduate degree in English Literature. With many years of experience, he specializes in poetry and literary analysis. His strong knowledge of literary terms and critical theory adds depth and value to his contributions to PoemSense.

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