Assonance
Assonance is the repetition of the same vowel sound in nearby words whose consonants differ, producing an echo that is heard rather than seen.
The old stone road showed no one at all.
The long o runs through old, stone, road, showed and no. None of the words rhyme, and the repetition is nearly invisible on the page, but it gives the line a low, held sound that a reader feels as atmosphere.
What assonance is, and what it is not
Assonance is a vowel echo. The vowel sound repeats while the consonants around it change. Like all sound devices, it goes by sound, not spelling: road, though and bone share a vowel sound with three different spellings.
Its two neighbours repeat other sounds:
- Alliteration, same first sound: a dark, damp doorway.
- Assonance, same vowel sound inside words: a slow, cold road.
- Consonance, same consonant in the middle or at the end: a quick, dark flicker.
And it stops short of rhyme. Cat and hat rhyme because they share the vowel and the ending; cat and map share only the vowel, which makes them assonance.
Assonance examples
- The little ship slipped in quickly. Short i, fast and light.
- The long boat rode low and slow. Long o, heavy and slow.
- She could feel the heat seep between the sheets. Long e, tight and close.
Why they work: the first two sentences could describe the same arrival, and they feel completely different. Vowel sound carries mood fairly reliably: long, low vowels slow a sentence and darken it; short, high vowels quicken and brighten it.
Why fiction writers use it
Alliteration announces itself. Assonance works underneath awareness, which makes it the safest of the sound devices to use at length. A writer who chooses the vowels in a closing line is doing something the reader will feel and never name.
Common mistakes
- Accidental near-rhyme. Pushed too far, assonance starts to chime (the rain came late down the lane), and the reader hears the writing instead of the scene. This is a form of mirror words.
- The wrong mood. A run of bright, quick vowels in a slow, sad moment works against the scene. Read it aloud and listen for whether the sound matches the feeling.
- Hunting for it. Assonance is best found in revision, by noticing what is already there and strengthening it, not by forcing vowels into a first draft.
Frequently asked questions
What is assonance in simple terms?
Assonance is repeating a vowel sound, such as the long o in 'old', 'stone' and 'road', in words close together. The words do not rhyme, but the shared vowel ties them together.
What is the difference between assonance and rhyme?
Rhyme repeats the vowel and everything after it, as in 'cat' and 'hat'. Assonance repeats only the vowel, as in 'cat' and 'map', so the echo is softer.
What is the difference between assonance and consonance?
Assonance repeats vowel sounds. Consonance repeats consonant sounds, usually in the middle or at the end of words. 'Slow, cold road' is assonance; 'quick, dark flicker' is consonance.