Internal rhyme is the rhyming of words within a single line of verse, or the rhyming of a word in the middle of a line with a word at the end. It adds sonic density without waiting for the line’s close.

Poe’s “Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary” places “dreary” and “weary” so that the rhyme strikes before the line finishes. Internal rhyme can create a sense of acceleration, of intricate patterning, or of obsessive echo. It is common in song lyrics, hip-hop, and certain highly wrought lyric poems. Combined with end rhyme, it produces a tightly woven acoustic texture.

Like other sound devices, internal rhyme works best when it serves meaning or mood rather than existing for its own sake. Excess can make a passage feel forced or singsong. Used with skill, it rewards the ear and binds the line into a more memorable unit.

When rhyme occurs inside the line rather than only at its end, the device is internal rhyme.