Poetry Hacks

Assonance

What is it? Where vowel sounds are repeated in words that are near to one another in a poem. What effect does it usually have? Assonance creates a sense of harmony, cohesion, and of words belonging together; it also emphasises important words. What else should I look out for? Like rhyme and consonance, assonance is often used to bind lines together, or to connect related words to create a resonant, memorable phrase. The repetition of longer vowels usually slows the pace of a poem (see Describing Sound in Poetry).

An example of how it works … ‘Sonnet 12’ by William Shakespeare:

When lofty trees I see barren of leaves Which erst from heat did canopy the herd

In these perfectly musical lines, 'trees', 'see', 'leaves' and 'heat' all assonate on their long vowel, helping to create a sense of longing for the bright summer of youth. The beauty of the lines is rounded off by the assonance of 'herd' both with 'erst' (meaning 'in the past') and its alliteration with 'heat'.

Another example … ‘After a Journey’ by Thomas Hardy:

autumn wrought division

Here the poet reflects on how his relationship with Emma deteriorated in the later years of his life (the 'autumn' years). The assonance on 'autumn' and 'wrought' emphasises this key phrase, at the same time implying that it was their age, rather than his or her behaviour, that was responsible for what he - rather euphemistically - calls their 'division'.

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