internal rhyme

American  

[in-tur-nl rahym] / ˈɪnˌtɜr nl ˈraɪm /

noun

Prosody.

1. a rhyme created by two or more words in the same line of verse.

2. a rhyme created by words within two or more lines of a verse.

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internal rhyme British  

noun

1. prosody rhyme that occurs between words within a verse line

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Etymology

Origin of internal rhyme

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

Priscilla Block, “My Bar” Top-shelf internal rhyme from Nashville, where the cheap stuff just won’t do: “Out of the corner of my eye / I see the door guy checking your ID.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 22, 2022

The producer zigs with a dusty funk sample that plucks long-forgotten strings or blows tarnished horns, while the rapper zags with a polysyllabic vocal attack that packs in punchlines and internal rhyme.

From Washington Post • Nov. 23, 2019

English, in “Briggflatts,” is compacted into mouthfuls crunchy with alliteration and internal rhyme.

From The New Yorker • Aug. 2, 2016

Sometimes he tends toward complex internal rhyme, but just as often he’s merely exulting.

From New York Times • Aug. 15, 2012

The other lyric, "Heart, Do Not Wake", is likewise of excellent quality, though the succession of "again" and "pain" in the first line might suggest to some ears an unnecessary internal rhyme.

From Writings in the United Amateur, 1915-1922 by Lovecraft, H. P. (Howard Phillips)