[Janice D. Soderling]

Perhaps the best-known example is Merrill's The Mirror does it, only as end rhymes. I've done it once as end and initial rhymes like this one, and thought I had invented something new. Ha, the arrogance/ignorance of youth.

I was trying to find the name for this kind of rhyme (end-initial) last week and failed. If anyone can tell me the name of that kind of rhyme I'd appreciate it.

Added in: Just want to add that I too have neglected McNiece whom I once was bowled over by. I am glad to be reminded. It strikes me how much of the poetry of that era is imbued with subtle acknowledgements (such as the "I am dying, Egypt" one) of classical work that the poet anticipates the general reader will understand.

[Tim Murphy]

John, The House admits Yalies, but only below the salt. It was a lot of fun performing Beowulf in both languages (and lots of Murphy) for all those little aristocrats. Henry XIII built them a really nice library to read in. They asked how I could be so sure of the meters and pronunciation and I grinned: recovered memory. That shut 'em up.

[Andrew Frisardi]

Originally Posted by Janice D. Soderling

I was trying to find the name for this kind of rhyme (end-initial) last week and failed. If anyone can tell me the name of that kind of rhyme I'd appreciate it.

Coblas capfinidas is one rather hifalutin-sounding name for it. The Occitan poets did it a lot, and the Italians followed suit. (Editing back in: I just checked, and actually coblas capfinidas strictly speaking refers to when a stanza begins with a rhyme on the word that ended the last stanza--not so much line to line, as MacNeice does it here.)

Ditto for me on the MacNeice--gotta get his Collected.

[Julie Steiner]

There was a relevant Sonnet Central thread, once upon a time:

http://thesonnetboard.yuku.com/topic/3861#.UJGZWjkTu3c

Heh! And Alan Wickes mentions this MacNeice poem in it.