Do you know what consonance is? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on consonance, including its definition, usage, example sentences, and more!
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Kevin
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November 18, 2021
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Common Questions
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What is consonance?
According to Your Dictionary, consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in poetry and prose to create rhyme, rhythm or mood. Similar to alliteration and assonance which utilizes the repetition of vowel sounds, this literary device is used by a poet or writer to create a feeling with language. This repetition often occurs at the end of words, but may also be found within words. However, if it is only at the beginning of words, this is called alliteration instead.
You can use consonance with similar consonant sounds just like assonance or alliteration use different letters like “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.” These rhyme schemes are also used often in rap, but are also seen in things like William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, by Edgar Allan Poe in The Raven, and even in the 23rd Psalm, which begins with the famous, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.” You might also hear these in things like song lyrics, a hymn, and more. Try coming up with some fun sentences that use consonance today! It is a great way to memorize this literary device.
What are examples of consonance?
Consonance can be used in many different contexts in the English language. Trying to use a word or literary technique in a sentence is one of the best ways to memorize what it is, but you can also try making flashcards or quizzes that test your knowledge. Try using this term of the day in a sentence today! Below are a couple of examples of consonance that can help get you started incorporating this tool into your everyday use. Take a look at these tongue twisters and consonance examples from Your Dictionary and see how many you can say! Some of them are quite a challenge. Others are from famous authors and writers.
- Pitter-patter
- She sells seashells by the seashore
- It will creep and beep while you sleep.
- “Shall I Wasting in Despair” by George Wither – “Great, or good, or kind, or fair, I will ne’er the more despair;/If she love me, this believe,/I will die ere she shall grieve;/If she slight me when I woo,/I can scorn and let her go;/For if she be not for me,/What care I for whom she be?”
- Litter and batter
- I dropped the locket in the thick mud and it got stuck.
- Hard and ward
- He struck a streak of bad luck.
- Norm the worm took the garden by a storm this morn.
- He thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts.
- Mammals named Sam are clammy.
- “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost – “He gives his harness bells a shake/To ask if there is some mistake./The only other sound’s the sweep/Of easy wind and downy flake.”
- “Arms and the Boy” by Wilfred Owen – “Let the boy try along this bayonet blade/How cold steel is, and keen with hunger of blood;/Blue with all malice, like a madman’s flash;/And thinly drawn with famishing for flesh.”
- Far and jar
- Cheer and beer
- Slither and slather
- daft and deft
- The black sack is in the back.
- Invitation by Shel Silverstein – “If you are a dreamer, come in,/If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,/A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer…/If you’re a pretender, come sit by my fire/For we have some flax-golden tales to spin. Come in! Come in!”
- When Billie looked at the trailer, she smiled and laughed.
- Blank and think
- There is no right time to imitate the teacher.
- Mike likes his new bike.
- Shel Silverstein’s “The Acrobats” – “I’ll swing by my ankles./She’ll cling to your knees./As you hang by your nose,/From a high-up trapeze./But just one thing, please,/As we float through the breeze,/Don’t sneeze.”
- Toss the glass, boss.
- The lawn thrived when it began to rain.
- Emily Dickinson’s “‘Twas Later When the Summer Went” – “‘Twas later when the summer went/Than when the cricket came,/And yet we knew that gentle clock/Meant nought but going home./’Twas sooner when the cricket went/Than when the winter came,/Yet that pathetic pendulum/Keeps esoteric time.”
- I wish you would mash potatoes in this dish.
- He stood on the road and cried.
- The zoo was amazing, especially the lizards and chimpanzees.
- Dawn goes down
- Spelled and scald
- I will crawl away with the ball.
- Borrow and sorrow
- Sent and went
- Strong and swing
- Laughed and coughed
What are other literary techniques and devices?
There are many different literary and grammatical techniques and devices that you might see when you are reading prose or poetry. It is important to recognize these devices because they are always used for some purpose. Knowing these devices can help readers understand the author’s deeper meaning and why they are using such a device. Take a look at the below list of literary devices from Reedsy and see how many you know! Then try researching ones that are unfamiliar to you.
- Archetype
- Satire
- In Medias Res
- Paradox
- Tone
- Litotes
- Zoomorphism
- Hypophora
- Malapropism
- Chiasmus
- Simile
- Soliloquy
- Allusion
- Juxtaposition
- Metonymy
- Tmesis
- Metaphor
- Frame story
- Anaphora
- Dramatic irony
- Repetition
- Cumulative sentence
- Oxymoron
- Anastrophe
- Aphorism
- Exposition
- Imagery
- Hyperbole
- Isocolon
- Anthropomorphism
- Foreshadowing
- Tautology
- Motif
- Synecdoche
- Polysyndeton
- Tragicomedy
- Irony
- Anachronism
- Onomatopoeia
- Allegory
- Symbolism
- Colloquialism
- Euphemism
- Flashback
- Personification
- Point of view
Overall, the word consonance refers to repeated consonant sounds.
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