Masculine ending and feminine ending are terms used in prosody, the study of verse form. "Masculine ending" refers to a line ending in a

stressed syllable In linguistics, and particularly phonology, stress or accent is the relative emphasis or prominence given to a certain syllable in a word or to a certain word in a phrase or sentence. That emphasis is typically caused by such properties as i ...

. "Feminine ending" is its opposite, describing a line ending in a stressless syllable. This definition is applicable in most cases; see below, however, for a more refined characterization.

Example

Below are the first two stanzas of "

A Psalm of Life "A Psalm of Life" is a poem written by American writer Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, often subtitled "What the Heart of the Young Man Said to the Psalmist".Gale, 202 Longfellow wrote the poem not long after the death of his first wife and while th ...

" by

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and '' Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely trans ...

. In each stanza, the first and third lines have a feminine ending and the second and fourth lines a masculine one.

Tell me not, in mournful numbers, Life is but an empty dream!— For the soul is dead that slumbers, And things are not what they seem. Life is real! Life is earnest! And the grave is not its goal; Dust thou art, to dust returnest, Was not spoken of the soul.

The final stressless syllables, creating feminine endings, are ''-bers'', again ''-bers'', ''-nest'', and again ''-nest''. The final stressed syllables, creating masculine endings, are ''dream'', ''seem'', ''goal'', and ''soul''.

Rhyme

Masculine rhymes

When masculine endings are

rhymed A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds (usually, the exact same phonemes) in the final Stress (linguistics), stressed syllables and any following syllables of two or more words. Most often, this kind of perfect rhyming is consciously used for a ...

(such as "dream" and "seem" in the previous example), the result is called a masculine rhyme (or single rhyme). In English-language poetry, especially serious verse, masculine rhymes comprise a majority of all rhymes.

John Donne John Donne ( ; 22 January 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a cleric in the Church of England. Under royal patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's Cathe ...

's poem "Lecture Upon the Shadow" is one of many that use exclusively masculine rhyme: :Stand still, and I will read to thee :A lecture, love, in Love's philosophy. :These three hours that we have spent :Walking here, two shadows went :Along with us, which we ourselves produced. :But now the sun is just above our head, :We do those shadows tread, :And to brave clearness all things are reduced.

Feminine rhymes

When lines with feminine endings are rhymed (such as "numbers" and "slumbers"), the result is termed a feminine rhyme (or double rhyme). The following unstressed syllables of a feminine rhyme are often

identity rhyme Perfect rhyme—also called full rhyme, exact rhyme, or true rhyme—is a form of rhyme between two words or phrases, satisfying the following conditions: *The stressed vowel sound in both words must be identical, as well as any subsequent s ...

s (all syllables the same), but do not have to be; they may be a mosaic rhymes, such as "exp''and me''" and "str''and thee''".Pattison, Pat (1991). ''Songwriting: Essential Guide to Rhyming: A Step-by-Step Guide to Better Rhyming and Lyrics'', p.7. Hal Leonard. . The feminine rhyme is rare in a monosyllabic language such as English, but the

gerund In linguistics, a gerund ( abbreviated ) is any of various nonfinite verb forms in various languages; most often, but not exclusively, one that functions as a noun. In English, it has the properties of both verb and noun, such as being modifiab ...

and

participle In linguistics, a participle () (from Latin ' a "sharing, partaking") is a nonfinite verb form that has some of the characteristics and functions of both verbs and adjectives. More narrowly, ''participle'' has been defined as "a word derived from ...

suffix In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns, adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can carr ...

-ing can make it readily available. The

Hudibrastic Hudibrastic is a type of English verse named for Samuel Butler's ''Hudibras'', published in parts from 1663 to 1678.Cox, Michael, editor, ''The Concise Oxford Chronology of English Literature'', Oxford University Press, 2004, For the poem, Butler ...

relies upon feminine rhyme for its comedy, and limericks will often employ outlandish feminine rhymes for their humor.

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

satirist This is an incomplete list of writers, cartoonists and others known for involvement in satire – humorous social criticism. They are grouped by era and listed by year of birth. Included is a list of modern satires. Under Contemporary, 1930-196 ...

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Du ...

used many feminine rhymes in his poetry.

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's " Sonnet number 20" makes use of feminine rhymes: {, class="wikitable" , - ! !! Rhyming Syllables !! Rhyme Pattern , -style="text-align:center; font-size:88%" , {{cquote, A woman’s face with nature’s own hand painted,
Hast thou, the master mistress of my passion;
A woman’s gentle heart, but not acquainted
With shifting change, as is false women’s fashion...
But since she prick’d thee out for women’s pleasure,
Mine be thy love and thy love’s use their treasure. , , pain-ted
pass-ion
quain-ted
fash-ion
plea-sure
trea-sure , , AB
CD
AB
CD
EF
EF
Edgar Allan Poe's poem "

The Raven "The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. First published in January 1845, the poem is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a distraught lover who is paid a myst ...

" employs multiple feminine rhymes as

internal rhyme In poetry, internal rhyme, or middle rhyme, is rhyme that occurs within a single line of verse, or between internal phrases across multiple lines. By contrast, rhyme between line endings is known as end rhyme. Internal rhyme schemes can be denoted ...

s throughout. In

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

verse, a feminine rhyme is one in which the final syllable is a "silent" ''e'', even if the word is masculine. In classical

French poetry French poetry () is a category of French literature. It may include Francophone poetry composed outside France and poetry written in other languages of France. French prosody and poetics The modern French language does not have a significant str ...

, two feminine rhymes cannot occur in succession. A masculine rhyme is one in which the final syllable is not a "silent" ''e'', even if the word is feminine. In classical

, two masculine rhymes cannot occur in succession.

In couplets and stanzas

Poems often arrange their lines in patterns of masculine and feminine endings, for instance in "A Psalm of Life" every couplet consists of a feminine ending followed by a masculine one. This is the pattern followed by the

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn ...

s that are classified as "87.87" in standard nomenclature (for this system see

Meter (hymn) A hymn metre (''US:'' meter) indicates the number of syllables for the lines in each stanza of a hymn. This provides a means of marrying the hymn's text with an appropriate hymn tune for singing. Hymn and poetic metre In the English language poe ...

); an example is

John Newton John Newton (; – 21 December 1807) was an English evangelical Anglican cleric and slavery abolitionist. He had previously been a captain of slave ships and an investor in the slave trade. He served as a sailor in the Royal Navy (after forc ...

's "

Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken "Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken", also called "Zion, or the City of God", is an 18th-century English hymn written by John Newton, who also wrote the hymn "Amazing Grace". Shape note composer Alexander Johnson set it to his tune "Jefferson" in ...

": :Glorious things of thee are spoken, :Zion, city of our God; :He whose word cannot be broken :Formed thee for his own abode; :On the Rock of Ages founded, :What can shake thy sure repose? :With salvation's walls surrounded, :Thou may'st smile at all thy foes. Here is a German example, from

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

's verse: :Dämmrung senkte sich von oben, :Schon ist alle Nähe fern; :Doch zuerst emporgehoben :Holden Lichts der Abendstern!

Relation to verse feet

The distinction of masculine vs. feminine endings is independent of the distinction between iambic and trochaic feet. For instance, the Longfellow and Newton examples above are written in

trochaic tetrameter Trochaic tetrameter is a meter in poetry. It refers to a line of four trochaic feet. The etymology of the word Trochaic is the Greek word ''trokhaios'', from the verb ''trecho'', which means "I run". In classical metre, a trochee is a foot cons ...

; the feminine endings occur in the full octosyllabic lines, with perfect final trochaic foot; and the masculine endings occur in the truncated seven-syllable lines, with an exceptional final monosyllabic foot. In contrast, the following poem by

Oliver Goldsmith Oliver Goldsmith (10 November 1728 – 4 April 1774) was an Anglo-Irish novelist, playwright, dramatist and poet, who is best known for his novel '' The Vicar of Wakefield'' (1766), his pastoral poem '' The Deserted Village'' (1770), and his ...

is written in

iambic tetrameter Iambic tetrameter is a poetic meter in ancient Greek and Latin poetry; as the name of ''a rhythm'', iambic tetrameter consists of four metra, each metron being of the form , x – u – , , consisting of a spondee and an iamb, or two iambs. The ...

; the masculine endings occur in ordinary octosyllabic lines, whereas the feminine endings occur with a ninth, extrametrical syllable: :When lovely woman stoops to folly, :And finds too late that men betray, :What charm can soothe her melancholy, :What art can wash her guilt away? :The only art her guilt to cover, :To hide her shame from every eye, :To give repentance to her lover :And wring his bosom, is—to die.

Lines ending in two stressless syllables

Particularly in unrhymed verse, there occur lines that end in two stressless syllables, yet have the syllable count of lines with uncontroversial masculine endings. Consider the following four lines from Shakespeare's ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict a ...

'', written in

iambic pentameter Iambic pentameter () is a type of metric line used in traditional English poetry and verse drama. The term describes the rhythm, or meter, established by the words in that line; rhythm is measured in small groups of syllables called " feet". "Iam ...

: :HELENA: :And even for that do I love you the more. :I am your spaniel; and, Demetrius, :The more you beat me, I will fawn on you. :Use me but as your spaniel, spurn me, strike me, The first of these, with ten syllables, has an uncontroversial masculine ending, the stressed syllable ''more''. The last line, with eleven syllables, has an uncontroversial feminine ending, the stressless syllable ''me''. The second and third lines end in two stressless syllables (''tri-us'', ''on you''). Having ten syllables, they are structurally parallel to masculine lines, even though they do not end in stressed syllables. The metrist Marina Tarlinskaja (2014, 124) proposes to classify cases like ''Demetrius'' or ''fawn on you'' as masculine endings (her example is "To sunder his that was thine enemy", from Shakespeare's ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with ''Ham ...

''). Thus for Tarlinskaja, "syllable 10 in masculine endings can be stressed or unstressed". There remains a further logical possibility, an eleven-syllable line ending in two stressless syllables. In actual verse, such lines are rare at best, as Tarlinskaya notes ("syllable 10 in feminine endings is always stressed.)"

Etymology

The terms "masculine ending" and "feminine ending" are not based on any cultural concept of "masculinity" or "femininity". Rather, they originate from a grammatical pattern of

, in which words of feminine

grammatical gender In linguistics, grammatical gender system is a specific form of noun class system, where nouns are assigned with gender categories that are often not related to their real-world qualities. In languages with grammatical gender, most or all noun ...

typically end in a stressless syllable and words of masculine gender end in a stressed syllable.OED, cited below

Notes

References

*Coye, Dale (2014) ''Pronouncing Shakespeare's Words: A Guide from A to Zounds''. Routledge. Cited passage is viewable on Google Books a

*Tarlinskaja, Marina (2014) ''Shakespeare and the Versification of English Drama, 1561-1642''. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. *"Feminine", in ''The Oxford English Dictionary'', online edition. Downloaded 12 October 2010. Poetic devices