Poetry Hacks

Sibilance

What is it? Using a number of words close together containing sibilant consonants (s, z, sh sounds). What effect does it usually have? Sibilance literally means 'hissing'. This sound can be used to convey a threat or create a sinister atmosphere; for snarling or insane dialogue (e.g. the mad Ferdinand says 'I'll find scorpions to string my whips' in Webster); for whispering ; or onomatopoeically to mimic the sound hissing air or running water ('sweet seasoned showers' in Shakespeare). What else should I look out for? Poets often use sibilance in a more general way, alongside other forms of consonance, to create a sense of harmony.

An example of how it works … ‘Exposure’ by Wilfred Owen:

Sudden successive flights of bullets streak the silence.

The onomatopoeic sibilance of this line enables the reader to hear, as well as see, the bullets tearing through the freezing air.

Another example … ‘Proud Songsters’ by Thomas Hardy:

the finches whistle in ones and pairs

The poet's use of sibilance mimics the high notes made by the birds as well as the light-hearted beauty of the scene, where the birds seem to be singing

solos and duets. See: Eye Rhyme

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