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Literature vocabulary · Literary Devices and Figures of Speech

Assonance

Meaning in literature, with examples

nounAdvanced term

In literature, assonance means: The repetition of similar vowel sounds in nearby words to create sound pattern, emphasis, or musical effect.

In Turkish: asonans

How it is used

Used in poetry and prose analysis to describe sound effects without full rhyme. It often supports mood, emphasis, or memorability.

Example sentences

  1. In the workshop, we underlined the assonance in 'rise high in the night' to hear the stretched vowel pattern.

    The term identifies repeated vowel sounds across several words, producing an audible link even though the words do not fully rhyme.

  2. The editor kept the sentence because its quiet assonance softened the transition between the two harsh paragraphs.

    Here, assonance is valued for shaping tone; the repeated vowels make the prose flow more gently.

Common collocations

  • use of assonance
  • heavy assonance
  • subtle assonance
  • rhymeThe repetition of the same or similar sounds at the ends of words, especially at the ends of lines in a poem, as in 'night' and 'light'.
  • rhythmThe pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables, pauses and speed in a line of poetry or prose, which gives it a sense of movement.

More terms: Literary Devices and Figures of Speech

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