Examples<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\na<\/u>ntique a<\/u>mplifier (The “a” sounds are vowels as well as stressed syllables.)<\/p>\n
Let’s pa<\/u>ck before the mosquitoes atta<\/u>ck. (Again the “a” sounds are both vowels and stressed syllables.)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
4)<\/strong> In business writing and personal correspondence, assonance can give our communication expressive distinction.<\/p>\nThe lessons gained from the quarter’s earnings leave us wi<\/u>sely advi<\/u>sed.<\/em><\/p>\nTo this day<\/u>, the fla<\/u>me of those memories remains the sa<\/u>me.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\nAssonance: What It’s Not<\/h2>\n
As precise and eloquent communicators, we want to understand both what assonance is and what it is not.<\/p>\n
We’ll often see assonance in rhymes with identical sounds at the end of lines and words:<\/p>\n
“Yesterday<\/u> \/ all my troubles seemed so far away<\/u>“<\/em> (from song by the Beatles)<\/p><\/blockquote>\nWe’ll also often see rhymes that include a vowel sound but end in a consonant sound:<\/p>\n
“Jack be nimble, Jack be quick<\/u>;
\nJack jump over the candlestick<\/u>“<\/em> (from the nursery rhyme; includes vowel sound “i” but concludes in “ck” sound)<\/p><\/blockquote>\nIn Jack’s case, we have an example of a consonant rhyme (matching consonant sounds). To be an assonant rhyme, it must end in matching vowel sounds:<\/p>\n
“Jack be nimble, Jack be spry<\/u>;
\nJack jump over the pumpkin pie<\/u>“<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\nWe’ve mentioned that assonance can be alliterative as well (antique amplifier<\/em>). However, if we said “let’s go before the mosquitoes attack,” we would not have both assonance and alliteration because the “o” sounds in “go” and “mosquitoes” are not all stressed syllables.<\/p>\nSimply remember that with alliteration, the repeating vowel sound must be on the first or stressed syllable; with assonance, the repeating sounds can appear anywhere.<\/p>\n
Assonance: Vital Restraint<\/h2>\n
For writing that reaches others with impact and clarity, we will aim to use assonance with proper moderation. Applied with the right touch and rarity, it can grip attention and linger; used with indulgence, it can distract and even seem pretentious or showy.<\/p>\n
Consider the following sentence:<\/p>\n
If I may say, you whiled away the day waiting for your time in the sun’s rays to pay. <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\nThe sentence may have rhythm and movement with its one- and two-syllable assonance, but it also becomes thickening sonic syrup. Its liberal use of assonance would likely attract undesired attention to style unless within a book for young readers.<\/p>\n
We can restore appealing assonance with some touch-up:<\/p>\n
If I may say, you wasted the day trying to get a sun tan.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\nBeyond using assonance with greater subtlety, our revision states the same thought more concisely.<\/p>\n
Pop Quiz<\/h2>\n
Determine if each sentence includes assonance.<\/p>\n
1. He’s a lean, mean fighting machine. [Yes \/ No]<\/p>\n
2. True success won’t involve quick tricks. [Yes \/ No]<\/p>\n
3. That’s it\u2014the cat is out of the bag. [Yes \/ No]<\/p>\n
4. Celia and Scarlett will stay good friends. [Yes \/ No]<\/p>\n
5. Remember to keep your eyes on the prize: no pain, no gain. [Yes \/ No]<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Pop Quiz Answers<\/h3>\n
1. He<\/u>‘s a lea<\/u>n, mea<\/u>n fighting machi<\/u>ne. Yes<\/strong><\/p>\n2. True success won’t involve quick<\/u> tricks<\/u>. No<\/strong> (consonance)<\/p>\n3. Tha<\/u>t’s i<\/u>t\u2014the ca<\/u>t i<\/u>s out of the ba<\/u>g. Yes<\/strong><\/p>\n4. C<\/u>elia and S<\/u>carlett will s<\/u>tay good friends. No<\/strong> (alliteration)<\/p>\n5. Remember to keep your eye<\/u>s on the pri<\/u>ze: no<\/u> pai<\/u>n, no<\/u> gai<\/u>n. Yes<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Language provides more than the means to express and deliver ideas and information. It also bears the power to please us through the tools we use to shape it. Thoughtful, eloquent communication can satisfy the outer and inner ear as much as awaken the mind. One technique that attracts us to writing and speech is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-definitions","category-effective-writing"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6856"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6856"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6856\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6880,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6856\/revisions\/6880"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}