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Because Williams wrote “The Red Wheelbarrow” in free verse, it comes as little surprise that rhyme plays virtually no part in the poem. In fact, rhyme arguably plays no role in the poem. Not only are there no end rhymes, but there aren’t any internal rhymes either. The phenomenon closest to rhyme in the poem is a technique known as assonance, which involves the repetition of vowel sounds in consecutive or nearby words. For example, Williams uses assonance in the third stanza (lines 5–6):

     glazed with rain
     water

The words “glazed” and “rain” feature the same long A sound, which creates a sonic relationship between them. However, this relationship doesn’t really approximate a rhyme. The conspicuous absence of rhyme in “The Red Wheelbarrow” may be related to the poem’s status as an Imagist poem. Imagist poetry emphasizes detailed precision of language, often to the deliberate exclusion of more traditional poetic devices that draw attention away from the visual focus. In this context, the sonic quality of rhyme might distract from the force of the visual imagery.

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