Assonance

Assonance is the figurative term used to refer to the repetition of a vowel sound in a line of
text or poetry. The words have to be close enough together for the repetition to be noticeable.
Tongue twisters often use a combination of alliteration (repetition of same beginning consonant
sound) and two different forms of assonance-or the repetition of two different vowel sounds.
This is what makes them so difficult to say.
Assonance is used for some of the same reasons as alliteration. It can affect the rhythm, tone,
and mood of a text. The repetition of certain vowel sounds-think short vowels sounds from the
letters u or o-can create a melancholy mood.
Examples of Assonance:
Examples of Assonance:
1. The light of the fire is a sight. (repetition of the long i sound)
2. Go slow over the road. (repetition of the long o sound)
3. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers (repetition of the short e and long i sounds)
4. Sally sells sea shells beside the sea shore (repetition of the short e and long e sounds)
5. Try as I might, the kite did not fly. (repetition of the long i sound)
Examples of Assonance in Literature:
1. Edgar Allan Poe's "Annabelle Lee": "And so all the night-tide, I lie down by the side of my
darling-my darling-my life and my bride" (repetition of the long i sound)
2. William Blake's "Tyger": "Tyger, Tyger burning bright in the forest of the night" (repetition of
the long i sound)
3. From William Wordsworth's "Daffodils": "A host of golden daffodils" (repetition of the long o
sound)
4. From the movie My Fair Lady: "The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain." (repetition of the
long a sound)

Onomatopoeia is the figurative term for words that attempt to represent a sound. These words
are used in writing and literature for effect. They are the attempt of writers to put sounds into
words.
Examples of Onomatopoeia:
Buzz-The bee buzzed in my ear.
Boom-The boom of the fireworks scared the baby.
Meow-The cat meowed for some milk.
Bark-Bark! Bark! The dog woke me up.
Swish-The swish of the basketball through the hoop excited the crowd.
Sizzle-The sizzle of bacon on the griddle is music to my ears.
Scratch-The scratching of the tree limb on the window was spooky.
Howl-The wolf howled in the night.
Pop-The pop of the balloon echoed through the room.
Rustle-The papers rustled as they fell to the floor.
Onomatopoeia in Literature
1. In Edgar Allan Poe's "The Bells"-"How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle in the icy air of night!"
2. In Shakespeare's The Tempest-"Hark! Hark! Bow-wow. The watch dogs bark."
3. In William Butler Yeats' "Isle of Innisfree"-"I hear the lake water lapping with low sounds by
the shore."

Alliteration is the figurative term for when a beginning consonant sound is repeated over and
over in a poem or text.
Alliteration is often used to provide a certain rhythmic sound to the poetry. The repetition of a
specific sound can also affect the mood. For example, a repeated "w" sound often gives a lulling
mood. The repetition of a harder sound-like "p" or "b"-sets a different mood.
Alliteration is heavily used in "tongue twisters."
Examples of Alliteration:
Examples of Alliteration:
1. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. (repeated p sound)
2. Sally sells seashells by the sea shore. (repeated s sound)
3. How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood. (repeated w and
c/ch sounds)
4. The sly, slithering snake snuck into the shed. (repeated s sound)
5. The river rushed rapidly over the rocks. (repeated r sound)
Example of Alliteration from Literature:
1. From Romeo and Juliet: "From forth the fatal loins of these two foes . . ." (repeated f sound)
2. From "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe: "Once upon a midnight dreary while I pondered weak
and weary" (repeated w sound)
3. William Blake's "Tyger": "burning bright," "frame thy fearful symmetry"
4. Shel Silverstein's "Where the Sidewalk Ends": "We shall walk with a walk that is measured
and slow / and watch where the chalk-white arrows go" (repeated w sound)