RHYME TIME

A friend called to ask about poetry as her son was confronting the issue in his studies and she had a list of terms.  After some enjoyable (to me, at least) conversation about meter, alliteration, and assonance, she said, "Iambic." and I screaked in her ear, "Pentameter!"  She noted that it didn't take much to excite me!  I asked, "How about onomatopoeia?" She said, "That's on here too!" I said, "That's the easy one!"  She answered, "Maybe to you!"

Mona Lisa sent this article from The Wise Geek with this note:

"Does anyone read poetry?  I challenge everyone I know to name a current poet; of course, you are exempt as I know YOU would know a contemporary poetess, but I don't know anyone else who would.  Just some questions:  Then why are you the only one I know who quotes poetry, Quote Girl (and WHY did I just italicize that?)  How will 'new' cliches begin if people don't read?  Is 'new' cliche an oxymoron?  Should I use ' or " around "new"?   But I was SOOO proud of myself--on Jeopardy!--for knowing that CHRISTINA ROSETTI was the sister of Dante Gabriel! Knowing you has been my liberal education. Oops, shall I attribute that to Shaw? Oh, Hell, I must look THAT up now --or should I have written 'now look that up', but I don't want to end a sentence with 'up', do I?

[Note: Mona Lisa is known for her stream-of-consciousness writing, capitalization, and lack of paragraphs.]

FROM The Wise Geek:

Studies show the statements that rhyme are more likely to be perceived as
being true and accurate.

Statements that include rhyming words are more likely to be perceived as being true, research shows. In one study, two versions of aphorisms, or concise statements presenting general opinions or ideas, were presented to participants;  one version that rhymed and another version that substituted a non-rhyming word that had the same meaning. Aphorisms containing words that rhyme, such as “birds of a feather flock together” were rated by participants as being more truthful than those that did not. Researchers believe this could be because the brain has an easier time processing rhymes, and people might mistake this ease as indicating truthfulness.