What is Assonance?
Assonance is a literary device in which the repetition of vowel sounds creates a pleasing effect. It is often used in poetry and prose to create a sense of harmony and unity within the text. The repetition of vowel sounds can help to create a sense of rhythm and can also be used to create a sense of internal rhyme.
For example, in the phrase “The grey geese fly away,” the repetition of the “e” sound in “grey” and “geese” creates assonance.
Another example would be the phrase “She sleeps soundly in her bed.” The repetition of the ‘ee’ and ‘ou’ sounds creates assonance.
Assonance is different from alliteration, which is the repetition of initial sounds, and from consonance, which is the repetition of final consonant sounds.
Assonance is also used to create a sense of mood or atmosphere in a sentence. Like for example in the phrase “The moon shone bright and the leaves rustled gently in the night” the repetition of the ‘o’ sound in “moon” and “shone” and ‘u’ sound in “rustled” creates a sense of calmness and serenity.
Assonance can be used to create a sense of unity and cohesiveness in a text, making it more enjoyable and memorable for the reader.
Why Use Assonance in Your Writing?
- To create rhythm
- To direct your audience’s attention to a particular set of words
- To make the piece of writing look more vivid
- To give it a tone and meaning
- To emphasise the theme
How Is Assonance Different from Alliteration?
To help you understand clearly, take a look at the table given below to understand how the use of assonance differs from alliteration in a sentence.
| Assonance | Alliteration |
| Assonance refers to the use of similar sounding syllable or vowel sounds in a sentence. | Alliteration refers to the use of words with similar phonetic sounds, including consonant sounds and, according to some, even vowel sounds in a sentence. |
| The words with the similar syllable or vowel sounds need not necessarily be placed together. They can be spread across the sentence. | The words containing similar sounds are placed close together in the sentence. |
| For example: They seemed to like the green peas salad. | For example: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled papers. |
Examples of Assonance
Here are a few examples of assonance:
- The grey geese fly away. (repetition of “e” sound in “grey” and “geese”)
- She sleeps soundly in her bed. (repetition of “ee” and “ou” sounds)
- The moon shone bright and the leaves rustled gently in the night. (repetition of “o” and “u” sound)
- The waves crashed against the shore. (repetition of “a” sound in “waves” and “crashed”)
- He sews his own clothes. (repetition of “o” sound in “sews” and “own”)
- The bees buzzed around the flowers. (repetition of “e” and “u” sound)
- The breeze blew through the trees. (repetition of “e” sound in “breeze” and “blew”)
- The old owl hooted in the night. (repetition of “o” sound in “old” and “hooted”)
- The sound of the rain was soothing. (repetition of “ou” sound)
- The fireflies flicker in the dark. (repetition of “i” sound in “fireflies” and “flicker”)
- The girl in the yellow dress. (repetition of “i” and “e” sound)
- The lake lay still in the morning. (repetition of “a” and “i” sound)
- The deer drank from the stream. (repetition of “e” sound in “deer” and “drank”)
- The mist rose from the valley. (repetition of “i” sound in “mist” and “rise”)
- The boat bobbed on the waves. (repetition of “o” sound in “boat” and “bobbed”)
- The sky was a deep blue. (repetition of “i” and “e” sound)
- The leaves fall gently to the ground. (repetition of “ea” sound)
- The wind whispered through the trees. (repetition of “i” sound in “wind” and “whispered”)
- The train trundled down the tracks. (repetition of “u” sound)
- The soft sigh of the breeze. (repetition of “i” and “o” sound)
These examples demonstrate how assonance can be used to create a sense of harmony and rhythm within a text, as well as to create a sense of mood or atmosphere.
