As synonymous as cream is with coffee, rhyme is a natural component of poetry in the public eye. While there are plenty of poems that have no intention of rhyming, the nature of phonetics and the English language make it nigh impossible to avoid it completely. Instead of accepting each occurrence of rhyme as a mere coincidence, both the reader and writer can use it to their advantage, better solidifying the meter and theme of the poem. Using rhyme adds both visual and aural consistency to the poem; its use and non-use emphasize certain words.
The two occurrences of rhyming consist of internal-rhyming and end-rhyming. End-rhyming is the well-known occurrence of rhyme in which two words at the end of different lines rhyme. Internal-rhyming occurs when two words in the same line rhyme with one another.
On a micro-scale, each occurrence can fall under different categories of rhyme: masculine, feminine, triple, slant, eye, and rich. Each type can work with different meter schemes and give the author and reader a variety of options when it comes to word choice and how they wish to create or break the structure of their poem.
In using rhyme to build structure in a poem, rhyming schemes are implemented. For basic schemes, there are couplets, triplets, cross-rhymes, and envelope-rhymes. Each has a different structure and can create different kinds of stanzas to build into a whole poem. Again, they are not necessary to employ, but it can provide direction where there was previously none.
The following reference will detail the various implementations of rhyme and how they affect the sound and structure of a poem. Specific examples will be provided as will sample identification.