Consonance
Consonance is a literary device characterized by the deliberate repetition of consonant sounds within a group of words, enhancing the rhythm and musicality of a text. The term derives from the Latin word for "harmony," highlighting its role in creating a cohesive auditory experience. While primarily associated with poetry, consonance is also utilized in prose and speeches to achieve stylistic effects. It operates alongside assonance, which involves the repetition of vowel sounds, and both are forms of alliteration that contribute to the overall texture of writing.
Consonance is most effective when placed on stressed syllables and can involve various consonant families, including sibilants, plosives, and nasals. An example of its use is seen in common tongue twisters, like "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers," which showcases the playful and engaging qualities of consonance. Writers often employ this technique to establish rhythm, mood, or a musical flow, allowing for a deeper emotional resonance in their compositions. By understanding consonance, readers and writers can appreciate the intricate sound patterns that contribute to the richness of language and its expressive potential.
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Consonance
The deliberate repetition of consonant sounds across a small group of words in a written or spoken text is a literary device known as consonance. The term comes from the Latin word consonantem, which means “harmony” or “agreement.”
Primarily associated with poetry, consonance is also used for stylistic effects in prose and oration. Along with assonance, which is defined as the repetition of vowel sounds across a phrase or passage, consonance is one of two distinct forms of alliteration. This is the repetition of similar sounds within a written composition. Writers tend to use consonance and assonance to create a sense of rhythm in their writing. Consonance and assonance can also be strategically used to achieve effects similar to those of near-rhymes and rhymes, making them particularly useful tools for poets.
Overview
Consonance can occur anywhere in a group of words but generally achieves the greatest effect when it is placed on stressed syllables. Notably, some definitions acknowledge technical distinctions between specific forms of consonance and assonance. These definitions characterize alliteration as involving only the first letter or sound in a group of words, while consonance and assonance apply specifically to consonant and vowel sounds occurring in the middle of words or on their stressed syllables. Other definitions assert that true consonance involves combining the consonant sound with alternating vowel sounds within a passage.
Consonance can involve both single consonants and digraphs that make consonant sounds. For example, a writer could achieve consonance by combining “f” with the “ph” digraph, which makes a functionally identical sound. A similar concept applies to “s,” soft “c,” and the “sh” digraph, with these sounds marking a distinctive subtype of consonance known as sibilance, due to their use of a consonant family known as sibilants. Though sibilance is the only subtype of consonance with its own distinct name, writers can also combine letters and sounds from other consonant families to create similar effects. Examples of other major consonant families include plosives (b, d, g, k, p, t) and nasals (m, n).
In poetry, consonance is mainly used to establish a sense of rhythm, establish or change mood, or create a musical sense of flow when reciting compositions aloud. Consonance can occur within poems at structured or regular intervals but usually appears with intermittent irregularity at strategically selected points. Prose authors deploy consonance to similar ends but generally make more selective use of the device by confining it to passages that they want to imbue with elevated rhythmic or poetic qualities.
Many common tongue twisters are examples of consonance:
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
She sells seashells by the seashore.
If two witches were watching two watches,
which witch would watch which watch?
Bibliography
“Consonance.” Poetry Foundation,2023, www.poetryfoundation.org/learn/glossary-terms/consonance. Accessed 16 Nov. 2023.
“Consonance: Consonance Examples in Poetry.” MasterClass,28 Sept. 2022, www.masterclass.com/articles/poetry-101-what-is-consonance-in-poetry-consonance-definition-with-examples. Accessed 16 Nov. 2023.
Ellis, Matt. “What Is ‘Consonance?’ Definition and Meaning, With Examples.” Grammarly,4 Oct. 2023, www.grammarly.com/blog/consonance/. Accessed 16 Nov. 2023.
O’Callaghan, Tamara. “Poetic Terms and Devices.” Northern Kentucky University,7 Feb. 2006, /www.nku.edu/~ocallaghant/courses/206/poetic‗devices.htm. Accessed 16 Nov. 2023.
“Other Matters of Sound.” Purdue University,2023, owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject‗specific‗writing/creative‗writing/pattern‗and‗variation‗aural/other‗matters‗of‗sound.html. Accessed 16 Nov. 2023.
Trujillo, Fernando. “The Consonants.” University of Granada,www.ugr.es/~ftsaez/fonetica/consonants.pdf. Accessed 16 Nov. 2023.
“What Are Assonance and Consonance?” Oregon State University,10 Dec. 2020, liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/wlf/what-are-assonance-and-consonance. Accessed 16 Nov. 2023.
“Writing 101: What Is Sibilance? Learn How Sibilance Is Used in Writing with 3 Literary Examples.” MasterClass,2 Sept. 2022, /www.masterclass.com/articles/writing-101-what-is-sibilance-learn-how-sibilance-is-used-in-writing-with-3-literary-examples. Accessed 16 Nov. 2023.