assonance

Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds within nearby words, especially in stressed syllables. It is a sonic device used to create musicality, mood, and cohesion in poetry and prose. Unlike alliteration, which repeats consonant sounds at the beginnings of words, assonance centers on vowels. The term derives from Latin assonantia, meaning to sound alike.

Examples include the famous line 'The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain,' where the long ai sound recurs in multiple words. Another common example is 'Hear the mellow wedding bells,' where the e sound is echoed in multiple words.

Assonance can be exact, with the same vowel sound repeated, or approximate, with a close but not identical vowel sound. It may occur within a single line (internal assonance) or across adjacent lines (cross-line assonance). Poets use it to bind words and images, to intensify vowels for emotional effect, and to reinforce rhythm.

It is often contrasted with consonance, which repeats consonant sounds, and with rhyme, which pairs sounds at line ends. As a flexible device, assonance appears in many languages and literary forms, from sonnets to modern free verse.