Assonance is the repetition of identical or similar
phoneme
A phoneme () is any set of similar Phone (phonetics), speech sounds that are perceptually regarded by the speakers of a language as a single basic sound—a smallest possible Phonetics, phonetic unit—that helps distinguish one word fr ...
s in words or syllables that occur close together, either in terms of their vowel phonemes (e.g., ''lean green meat'') or their consonant phonemes (e.g., ''Kip keeps capes ''). However, in American usage, ''assonance'' exclusively refers to this phenomenon when affecting vowels, whereas, when affecting consonants, it is generally called ''consonance''. The two types are often combined, as between the words ''six'' and ''switch'', which contain the same vowel and similar consonants. If there is repetition of the same vowel or some similar vowels in literary work, especially in stressed syllables, this may be termed "vowel harmony" in poetry (though linguists have a different definition of "
vowel harmony
In phonology, vowel harmony is a phonological rule in which the vowels of a given domain – typically a phonological word – must share certain distinctive features (thus "in harmony"). Vowel harmony is typically long distance, meaning tha ...
").
A special case of assonance is
rhyme
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 rhyming (''perfect rhyming'') is consciou ...
, in which the endings of words (generally beginning with the vowel sound of the last stressed syllable) are identical—as in ''fog'' and ''log'' or ''history'' and ''mystery''. Vocalic assonance is an important element in verse. Assonance occurs more often in verse than in
prose
Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinary grammatical structures, or, in writing, typical conventions and formatting. Thus, prose ranges from informal speaking to formal academic writing. Prose differs most n ...
; it is used in English-language poetry and is particularly important in
Old French
Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th Spanish, and the Celtic languages">Spanish language">Spanish, and the Celtic languages.
Put another way, assonance is a rhyme, the identity of which depends merely on the vowel sounds. Thus, an assonance is merely a Syllabic verse, syllabic resemblance. For example, in W. B. Yeats poem, The Wild Swans at Coole (poem), Yeats rhymes the word ''swan'' with the word ''stone'', thus assonance.
Examples
English poetry is rich with examples of assonance and/or consonance:
It also occurs in prose:
Hip hop
Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
relies on assonance:
It is also heard in other forms of popular music:
Assonance is common in
proverb
A proverb (from ) or an adage is a simple, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and are an example of formulaic speech, formulaic language. A proverbial phrase ...
s:
Total assonance is found in a number of
Pashto
Pashto ( , ; , ) is an eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan. It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khyb ...
proverbs from
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
:
*''La zra na bal zra ta laar shta.'' "From one heart to another there is a way."
*''Kha ghar lwar day pa sar laar lary.'' "Even if a mountain is very high, there is a path to the top."
This poetic device can be found in the first line of
Homer
Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...
's
Iliad
The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...
: (). Another example is ''Dies irae'' (probably by Thomas of Celano):
: ''Dies iræ, dies illa''
: ''Solvet sæclum in favilla,''
: ''Teste David cum Sibylla.''
In
Dante
Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...
's ''
Divine Comedy
The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poetry, narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of ...
'' there are some stanzas with such repetition.
: ''così l’animo mio, ch’ancor fuggiva,''
: ''si volse a retro a rimirar lo passo''
: ''che non lasciò già mai persona viva.''
In the following strophe from Hart Crane's "To Brooklyn Bridge" there is the vowel in many stressed syllables.
: ''How many dawns, chill from his rippling rest''
: ''The seagull’s wings shall dip and pivot him,''
: ''Shedding white rings of tumult, building high''
: ''Over the chained bay waters Liberty—''
All
rhyme
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 rhyming (''perfect rhyming'') is consciou ...
s in a strophe can be linked by vowel harmony into one assonance. Such stanzas can be found in Italian or Portuguese poetry, in works by Giambattista Marino and Luís Vaz de Camões:
: ''Giunto a quel passo il giovinetto Alcide,''
: ''che fa capo al camin di nostra vita,''
: ''trovò dubbio e sospeso infra due guide''
: ''una via, che’ due strade era partita.''
: ''Facile e piana la sinistra ei vide,''
: ''di delizie e piacer tutta fiorita;''
: ''l’altra vestìa l’ispide balze alpine''
: ''di duri sassi e di pungenti spine.''
This is ottava rima (abababcc), a very popular form in the Renaissance that was first used in epic poems.
: ''As armas e os barões assinalados,''
: ''Que da ocidental praia Lusitana,''
: ''Por mares nunca de antes navegados,''
: ''Passaram ainda além da Taprobana,''
: ''Em perigos e guerras esforçados,''
: ''Mais do que prometia a força humana,''
: ''E entre gente remota edificaram''
: ''Novo Reino, que tanto sublimaram;''
There are many examples of vowel harmony in French, Czech, and PolishWiktor Jarosław Darasz, Mały przewodnik po wierszu polskim, Kraków 2003, pp. 179–185 (in Polish). poetry.
See also
*
Alliteration
Alliteration is the repetition of syllable-initial consonant sounds between nearby words, or of syllable-initial vowels if the syllables in question do not start with a consonant. It is often used as a literary device. A common example is " Pe ...
Assonance American Rhetoric: Rhetorical Figures in Sound Modern & Contemporary American Poetry, University of Pennsylvania Elements of Poetry, VirtuaLit
Further reading
*
*
Roman Jakobson
Roman Osipovich Jakobson (, ; 18 July 1982) was a Russian linguist and literary theorist. A pioneer of structural linguistics, Jakobson was one of the most celebrated and influential linguists of the twentieth century. With Nikolai Trubetzk ...