Assonance Examples

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:

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)