Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0019928, Wed, 28 Apr 2010 06:01:09 -0400

Subject
Re: THOUGHTS on Rhyming and Semantic Analyses
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On Apr 24, 2010, at 2:47 PM, NABOKV-L wrote:

> Having applied my mind to the problem, let me provide a closely-
> reasoned
> and succinct solution:
> Old McNab used that particular noun, "pond" -- because he needed a
> rhyme
> for "blond".
>
> Hugs and kisses,
>
> Tom (Rymour)


You have a point, for surely poets have sometimes chosen words that
don't mean much in order to complete a rhyme.
The problem is, of course: how does one know when that's the case?
Reductio ad absurdum: Should we discount the meaning of all rhymed
words?
Another counter-argument: Rhymes are strategically placed at the end
of lines, (usually,) and are mnemonic, memorable and therefore
semantically, as a general rule, more important than the other words
in the line.

–GSL






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