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Concept
Assonance
Summary
Assonance is a resemblance in the sounds of words/syllables either between their vowels (e.g., meat, bean) or between their consonants (e.g., keep, cape). However, assonance between consonants is generally called consonance in American usage. The two types are often combined, as between the words six and switch, in which the vowels are identical, and the consonants are similar but not completely identical. 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").
A special case of assonance is rhyme, 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; it is used in English-language poetry and is particularly important in Old French, Spanish, and the Celtic languages.
English poetry is rich with examples of assonance and/or consonance:
It also occurs in prose:
Hip hop relies on assonance:
It is also heard in other forms of popular music:
Assonance is common in proverbs:
Total assonance is found in a number of Pashto proverbs from Afghanistan:
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's Iliad: (Μῆνιν ἄειδε, θεά, Πηληϊάδεω Ἀχιλῆος). Another example is Dies irae (probably by Thomas of Celano):
Dies iræ, dies illa
Solvet sæclum in favilla,
Teste David cum Sibylla.
In Dante's Divine Comedy 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 [i] in many stressed syllables.
Official source
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