
Are you a fan of poetry? Does different types of poetry and style of writing excite you? Have you heard of what assonance in poetry is? If you’re looking for some examples of assonance in poetry, you’ve come to the right place. Read the following article to find more information…
Have you ever picked up a poetry book and read the poems not knowing what they mean or what style of poetry they are? When we are kids, learning about different types of poetry, figures of speech, and various styles of writing can be quite confusing. Although, when it comes to understanding the meaning behind what assonance is, there are times even adults can be baffled by it. It’s natural; people who like to do casual reading end up stumbling upon great poems but without the knowledge of what or how it was constructed. So is the use of assonance in poetry as well. The lines or phrases that make up the entire poem can use various types of poetry, and assonance is one of them. And in the following article, we are going to see some examples. But before we take a look at the various examples of assonance in poems by famous poets, why not understand the meaning of assonance first.
What is Assonance
In a poem, when a particular line or phrase has similar vowel sounds, it’s called assonance. In English language poetry, assonance is used to create rhymes even within the lines or phrases. With assonance, the sound of the vowel matches with another word in the same line. Although while rhyming, the words don’t necessarily have to be accurate, as in cat and rat or lime and time. The stress is basically on using similar vowels such as ban and cat. The assonance here is the same, but the consonant is different (no ‘t’ in the end). So, in short, use of vowels a, e, i, o, u and periodic use of repetition of similar sounding words makes up for assonance. Now that we have understood the meaning of assonance, let’s take a closer look at the examples not just in poems but in literature as well.
Examples in Assonance
While you’re reading the poems below, try to search for the use of assonance in the lines. Although the poems have been underlined, you can still try to understand the use on your own.
The Bells
by Edgar Allan Poe Hear the mellow wedding bells – |
The World Is Too Much with Us by William Wordsworth The world is too much with us; late and soon, |
Eldorado by Edgar Allan Poe Gaily bedight, But he grew old – And, as his strength “Over the mountains |
The Feast of Famine
by Robert Louis Stevenson …From folk that sat on the terrace and drew out the even long |
Other Examples in Poems
Besides the illustrations we discussed in the article, there are other famous poets who have incorporated the style in their own work. Here’s a small list of their great literary works.
- Daffodils by William Wordsworth
- How Happy is the Little Stone by Emily Dickinson
- The Lotus-Eaters by Alfred Lord Tennyson
- Fire And Ice by Robert Frost
- Frost at Midnight by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
- Travel by Edna St. Vincent Millay
- Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost
These were some examples of assonance in poetry. Besides these there are other examples in literature such as Julius Caesar and Romeo and Juliet. And as for songs, perhaps you’ve heard the songs If Everyone Caredby Nickelback, According to You by Orianthi, and Baby by Justin Bieber. Now if we have left out any other examples that you may be aware of, please leave us a comment below. We’d love to hear from you.