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Rhyme is the repetition of similar sounds in

two or more words. In poetry these words are
usually at the end of a line and help create a
certain rhythm. Example: tree, me, see, be,
flee all rhyme because they end with the
same sound.
Rhyme is a pattern of words that contain
similar sounds.
Example:
go/show/glow/know/though
Rhythm: The dictionary tells us it is "a
movement with uniform recurrence of a beat
or accent." In its crudest form rhythm has a
beat with little or no meaning. Children use
them in games and counting-out rhymes. In
poetry, rhythm, broadly speaking, is a
recognizable pulse, or "recurrence," which
gives a distinct beat to a line and also gives
it a shape.
Rhyme is not only a recurrence but a
matching of sounds. The pleasure of pairing
words to make a kind of musical echo is as
old as mankind. The child of this generation
may be millions of years away from
prehistoric man, but the lullabies and
dancing games of today are not much
different from those of the cave-dweller. As in
the old days, there is a real connection
between poetry and magic, between poetry
and memory. Children begin with rhyme and
rhythm; even before they can talk, boys and
girls echo nursery rhymes and the jingles of
Mother Goose. They learn their numbers
painlessly by repeating such rhymes as:
One, two,
Buckle my shoe.
Three, four,
Shut the door.
They know the days of the month by
memorizing:
Thirty days hath September,
April, June, and November....
They even pick up bits of history by
remembering such simple rhymes as:
Columbus sailed the ocean blue
In fourteen-hundred-ninety-two
But it is not only children who find things
easier when they are said in rhyme and
rhythm. Farmers and housewives prefer
verse to prose for their wise sayings; the
music of a rhyme helps them to remember. It

points up their proverbs and gives a quick

turn to the meaning:
A sunshiny shower
Won't last an hour.
Rain before seven;
Clear by eleven.
March winds and April showers
Bring forth May flowers.
Wishes
Won't wash dishes.
Early to bed and early to rise
Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.
The devices of poetry are always being used
- and abused in daily life. Not only children
and farmers but businessmen understand
the value of verse and "apt alliteration's
artful aid." Roadside signs, cards in buses,
advertisements in newspapers, commercials
on radio and television, prove that an idea
fastens itself quickly in the mind when it is
rhymed. Christmas cards, birthday wishes,
condolences, and greetings are most
effective when they are in verse. The
fourteenth of February brings out the poet in
everyone.
Even on the lowest plane, poetry is rarely
"rhyme without reason." It sharpens the wit's
cleverness and heightens the lover's dearest
sentiments. Poetry ranges all the way from
the childish " Roses are red, violets are blue"
to Robert Burns's immortal song "My love is
like a red, red rose." When we are deeply
aroused, we express ourselves in some sort
of poetry; our emotions spill over into a
football cheer, a ballad, or a love lyric. A
poem expresses our inner excitement, eases
our pain, and glorifies our joy. Because of its
strongly accented beat ana its ability to
convey intense feeling, poetry is the most
powerful form of speech.
Rhyme has been called a kind of musical
punctuation. It is not only an aid to memory,
as we have discovered in proverbs and
nursery rhymes, but it is also a pleasure to
the ear. Poetry should not only be read, it
should be read aloud. To see it on the printed
page is not enough; poetry should be heard
as well as seen. "The Ballad of Father
Gilligan" by William Butler Yeats and "Gunga
Din" by Rudyard Kipling are both narrative.
Totally different in theme, they have one
thing in common: a simple but superb use of
rhyme. The strong accent of the rhyming
captivates the reader and lifts the story
above its prose statement into poetry.

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Rhyme is the matching of vowels and the
coupling of vowel sounds. Like rhythm, it is a
kind of recurrence - but rhyme has a
recurrence of sound as well as beat. The
following jingle has rhythm:
One, two,
Buckle my belt;
Three, four,
Snap the lock.
The rhythm of these lines becomes more
musical - and much easier to remember
-when rhyme is added. We then get the
recurring vowel sound of:
One, two,
Buckle my shoe;
Three, four,
Shut the door.
Alliteration Definition
Alliteration is derived from Latins
Latira. It means letters of
alphabet. It is a stylistic device in
which a number of words, having the
same first consonant sound, occur
close together in a series.

Consider the following examples:

But a better butter makes a batter
better.
A big bully beats a baby boy.
Both sentences are alliterative
because the same first letter of words
(B) occurs close together and
produces alliteration in the sentence.
An important point to remember here
is that alliteration does not depend on
letters but on sounds. So the phrase
not knotty is alliterative, but cigarette
chase is not.
Common Examples of Alliteration
In our daily life, we notice alliteration in the
names of different companies. It makes the
name of a company catchy and easy to
memorize. Here are several common
alliteration examples.
Dunkin Donuts
PayPal
Best Buy
Coca-Cola
Life Lock
Park Place
American Apparel
American Airlines
Chuckee Cheeses
Bed Bath & Beyond

Krispy Kreme
The Scotch and Sirloin
We also find alliterations in names of people,
making such names prominent and easy to
be remembered. For instance, both fictional
characters and real people may stand out
prominently in your mind due to the
alliterative effects of their names. Examples
are:
Ronald Reagan
Sammy Sosa
Jesse Jackson
Michael Moore
William Wordsworth
Mickey Mouse
Porky Pig
Lois Lane
Marilyn Monroe
Fred Flintstone
Donald Duck
Spongebob Squarepants
Seattle Seahawks
Alliteration Examples in Literature
Example #1
From Samuel Taylor Coleridges The
Rime of the Ancient Mariner
The fair breeze blew, the white foam
flew,
The furrow followed free;
We were the first that ever burst
Into that silent sea.
In the above lines we see alliteration
(b, f and s) in the phrases
breeze blew, foam flew, furrow
followed, and silent sea.
Example #2
From James Joyces The Dead
His soul swooned slowly as he heard
the snow falling faintly through the
universe and faintly falling, like the
descent of their last end, upon all the
living and the dead.
We notice several instances of
alliteration in the above mentioned
prose work of James Joyce.
Alliterations are with s and f in the
phrases swooned slowly and falling
faintly.
Example #3
From Maya Angelous I Know Why the
Caged Bird Sings
Up the aisle, the moans and screams
merged with the sickening smell of

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woolen black clothes worn in summer
weather and green leaves wilting over
yellow flowers.
Maya gives us a striking example of
alliteration in the above extract with
the letters s and w. We notice that
alliterative words are interrupted by
other non-alliterative words among
them but the effect of alliteration
remains the same. We immediately
notice alliteration in the words
screams, sickening smell,
summer, weather and wilting.
Example #4
From William Shakespeares Romeo
and Juliet (prologue to Act 1)
From forth the fatal loins of these two
foes;
A pair of star-crossd lovers take their
life.
This is an example of alliteration with the f
and l. in words forth, fatal, foes and
loins, lovers, and life.
Example #5
Percy Bysshe Shelleys (English
Romantic poet) The Witch of Atlas is
a famous poem that is full of examples
of alliterations. Just a few of them are
wings of winds (line 175), sick soul
to happy sleep (line 178), cells of
crystal silence (line 156), Wisdoms
wizard. . . wind. . . will (lines 195197), drained and dried ( line 227),
lines of light (line 245), green and
glowing (line 356), and crudded. . .
cape of cloud (lines 482-3).
Function of Alliteration
Alliteration has a very vital role in
poetry and prose. It creates a musical
effect in the text that enhances the
pleasure of reading a literary piece. It
makes reading and recitation of the
poems attractive and appealing; thus,
making them easier to learn by heart.
Furthermore, it renders flow and
beauty to a piece of writing.
In the marketing industry, as what we
have already discussed, alliteration
makes the brand names interesting
and easier to remember. This literary
device is helpful in attracting
customers and enhancing sales.
Assonance Definition
Assonance takes place when two or
more words close to one another

repeat the same vowel sound but start

with different consonant sounds.

For instance,
Men sell the wedding bells.
The same vowel sound of the short
vowel -e- repeats itself in almost all
the words excluding the definite
article. The words do share the same
vowel sounds but start with different
consonant sounds unlike alliteration
that involves repetition of the same
consonant sounds. Below are a few
assonance examples that are more
common:
Common Assonance Examples
We light fire on the mountain.
I feel depressed and restless.
Go and mow the lawn.
Johnny went here and there and
everywhere.
The engineer held the steering to
steer the vehicle.
Examples of Assonance in Literature
Assonance is primarily used in poetry
in order to add rhythm and music, by
adding an internal rhyme to a poem.
Let us look at some examples of
assonance from literature.
Example #1
Try to notice the use of assonance in
Robert Frosts poem Stopping by
Woods on a Snowy Evening:
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sounds the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dar and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
The underlined bold letters in the
above extract are vowels that are
repeated to create assonance.
Example #2
Assonance sets the mood of a passage
in Carl Sandburgs Early Moon:
Poetry is old, ancient, goes back far. It
is among the oldest of living things. So

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old it is that no man knows how and
why the first poems came.
Notice how the long vowel o in the
above extract helps emphasize the
idea of something being old and
mysterious.
Example #3
The sound of long vowels slows down
the pace of a passage and sets an
atmosphere that is grave and serious.
Look at the following example taken
from Cormac McCarthys Outer Dark:
And stepping softly with her air of
blooded ruin about the glade in a frail
agony of grace she trailed her rags
through dust and ashes, circling the
dead fire, the charred billets and chalk
bones, the little calcined ribcage.
The repetition of the long vowel in the
above passage lays emphasis on the
frightening atmosphere that the writer
wants to depict.
Example #4
Similarly, we notice the use of long
vowels in a passage from Dylan
Thomas famous poem Do Not Go
Gentle into the Good Night:
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close
of day;
Rage, rage, against the dying of the
light.
Grave men, near death, who see with
blinding sight,
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors
and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the
light.
The poet deliberately uses assonance
in the above lines to slow down the
pace of the lines and create a somber
mood, as the subject of the poem is
death.
Example #5
William Wordsworth employs
assonance to create an internal rhyme
in his poem Daffodils:
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high oer vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the
breeze

Example #6
Below are a few brief examples of
assonance from different writers:
If I bleat when I speak its because I
just got . . . fleeced. Deadwood by
Al Swearengen
Those images that yet,
Fresh images beget,
That dolphin-torn, that gongtormented sea. Byzantium by W.B.
Yeats
Strips of tinfoil winking like people
The Bee Meeting by Sylvia Plath
I must confess that in my quest I felt
depressed and restless. With Love
by Thin Lizzy
Function of Assonance
Similar to any other literary device,
assonance also has a very important
role to play in both poetry and prose.
Writers use it as a tool to enhance a
musical effect in the text by using it
for creating internal rhyme, which
consequently enhances the pleasure
of reading a literary piece. In addition,
it helps writers to develop a particular
mood in the text that corresponds with
its subject matter.
Imagery Definition
Imagery means to use figurative language to
represent objects, actions and ideas in such
a way that it appeals to our physical senses.
Usually it is thought that imagery makes use
of particular words that create visual
representation of ideas in our minds. The
word imagery is associated with mental
pictures. However, this idea is but partially
correct. Imagery, to be realistic, turns out to
be more complex than just a picture. Read
the following examples of imagery carefully:
It was dark and dim in the forest. The
words dark and dim are visual images.
The children were screaming and shouting in
the fields. Screaming and shouting
appeal to our sense of hearing or auditory
sense.
He whiffed the aroma of brewed coffee.
whiff and aroma evoke our sense of
smell or olfactory sense.

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The girl ran her hands on a soft satin fabric.
The idea of soft in this example appeals to
our sense of touch or tactile sense.

and the twitters of swallows in the sing.

Keats call these sounds as the song of
autumn.

The fresh and juicy orange is very cold and

sweet. juicy and sweet when
associated with oranges have an effect on
our sense of taste or gustatory sense.

Example #3

Imagery needs the aid of figures of speech

like simile, metaphor, personification,
onomatopoeia etc. in order to appeal to the
bodily senses. Let us analyze how famous
poets and writers use imagery in literature.
Imagery Examples in Literature
Example #1
Imagery of light and darkness is repeated
many times in Shakespeares Romeo and
Juliet. Consider an example from Act I,
Scene V:

O, she doth teach the torches to burn

bright!
It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night
Like a rich jewel in an Ethiopes ear;
Romeo praises Juliet by saying that she
appears more radiant than the brightly lit
torches in the hall. He says that at night her
face glows like a bright jewel shining against
the dark skin of an African. Through the
contrasting images of light and dark, Romeo
portrays Juliets beauty.
Example #2
John Keats To the Autumn is an ode rich
with auditory imagery examples. In the last
five lines of his ode he says:
Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;

In prose, imagery aids writers to accomplish

a vivid description of events. Below is an
example of an effective use of imagery from
E.B. Whites Once More to the Lake:
When the others went swimming my son
said he was going in, too. He pulled his
dripping trunks from the line where they had
hung all through the shower and wrung them
out. Languidly, and with no thought of going
in, I watched him, his hard little body, skinny
and bare, saw him wince slightly as he pulled
up around his vitals the small, soggy, icy
garment. As he buckled the swollen belt,
suddenly my groin felt the chill of death.
The images depicting the dampness of
clothes, in the above lines, convey a sense of
chilly sensation that we get from wet clothes.
Example #4
In The Great Expectations written by
Charles Dickens, Pip (the hero of the novel)
uses many images to describe a damp
morning in a marsh:

It was a rimy morning, and very damp. I had

seen the damp lying on the outside of my
little window Now, I saw the damp lying on
the bare hedges and spare grass,. On
every rail and gate, wet lay clammy; and the
marsh-mist was so thick, that the wooden
finger on the post directing people to our
villagea direction which they never
accepted, for they never came therewas
invisible to me until I was quite close under
it.

The redbreast whistles from a garden-croft,

The repeated use of the words damp and

wet makes us feel how rough it was for him
in that damp and cold morning. The thick
marsh-mist aids our imagination to
visualize the scene of mourning in a
marshland.

And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

Function of Imagery

The animal sounds in the above excerpt keep

appealing to our sense of hearing. We hear
the lamb bleating and the crickets chirping.
We hear the whistles of the redbreast robin

The function of imagery in literature is to

generate a vibrant and graphic presentation
of a scene that appeals to as many of the

And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly

bourn;
Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft

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readers senses as possible. It aids the
readers imagination to envision the
characters and scenes in the literary piece
clearly. Apart from the above mentioned
function, images , which are drawn by using
figures of speech like metaphor, simile,
personification, onomatopoeia etc. serve the
function of beautifying a piece of literature.
Symbolism Definition

To develop symbolism in his work, a writer

utilizes other figures of speech, like
metaphors, similes, allegory, as tools. Some
symbolism examples in literature are listed
below with brief analysis:
Example #1
We find symbolic value in Shakespeares
famous monologue in his play As you Like It:

Symbolism is the use of symbols to signify

ideas and qualities by giving them symbolic
meanings that are different from their literal
sense.

All the worlds a stage,

Symbolism can take different forms.

Generally, it is an object representing
another to give it an entirely different
meaning that is much deeper and more
significant. Sometimes, however, an action,
an event or a word spoken by someone may
have a symbolic value. For instance, smile
is a symbol of friendship. Similarly, the action
of someone smiling at you may stand as a
symbol of the feeling of affection which that
person has for you.

And one man in his time plays many parts,

Symbols do shift their meanings depending

on the context they are used in. A chain,
for example, may stand for union as well
as imprisonment. Thus, symbolic meaning
of an object or an action is understood by
when, where and how it is used. It also
depends on who reads them.
Common Examples of Symbolism in
Everyday Life

And all the men and women merely players;

they have their exits and their entrances;

The above lines are symbolic of the fact that

men and women, in course of their life
perform different roles. A stage here
symbolizes the world and players is a
symbol for human beings.

Example #2
William Blake goes symbolic in his poem Ah
Sunflower. He says:
Ah Sunflower, weary of time,
Who countest the steps of the sun;
Seeking after that sweet golden clime
Where the travelers journey is done;

In our daily life, we can easily identify

objects, which can be taken as examples of
symbol such as the following:

Blake uses a sunflower as a symbol for

human beings and the sun symbolizes life.
Therefore, these lines symbolically refer to
their life cycle and their yearning for a neverending life.

The dove is a symbol of peace.

Example #3

A red rose or red color stands for love or

romance.

Emily Brontes Wuthering Heights presents

almost every character, house, surroundings
and events in a symbolic perspective. The
word Wuthering, which means stormy,
represents the wild nature of its inhabitants.
The following lines allow us to look into the
symbolic nature of two characters:

Black is a symbol that represents evil or

death.
A ladder may stand as a symbol for a
connection between the heaven and the
earth.
A broken mirror may symbolize separation
Symbolism Examples in Literature

My love for Linton is like the foliage in the

woods. Time will change it; Im well aware,
as winter changes the trees. My love for
Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks
beneath a source of little visible delight, but
necessary.

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The phrase foliage of leaves for Linton is a
symbol for his fertile and civilized nature. On
the contrary, Heathcliff is likened to an
eternal rock which symbolizes his crude
and unbendable nature.
Example #4
Sara Teasdale in her poem Wild Asters
develops a number of striking symbols:
In the spring, I asked the daisies
If his words were true,
And the clever, clear-eyed daisies
Always knew.
Now the fields are brown and barren,
Bitter autumn blows,
And of all the stupid asters
Not one knows.
In the above lines, spring and daisies are
symbols of youth. Brown and barren are
symbols of transition from youth to old age.
Moreover, Bitter autumn symbolizes death.
Function of Symbolism
Symbolism gives a writer freedom to add
double levels of meanings to his work: a
literal one that is self-evident and the
symbolic one whose meaning is far more
profound than the literal one. The
symbolism, therefore, gives universality to
the characters and the themes of a piece of
literature. Symbolism in literature evokes
interest in readers as they find an
opportunity to get an insight of the writers
mind on how he views the world and how he
thinks of common objects and actions,
having broader implications.
Consonance Definition
Consonance refers to repetitive sounds
produced by consonants within a sentence or
phrase. This repetition often takes place in
quick succession such as in pitter, patter.

with one and other due to the existence of

common interior consonant sounds (/ck/).
The literary device of consonance is
inherently different from assonance which
involves the repetition of similar vowel
sounds within a word, sentence, or phrase.
Another distinction to be appreciated is that
of between consonance and rhyme. In the
case of rhyme, consonant sounds can be
present at the beginning, middle, or end of
several successive words, rather than merely
at the ends of words. Further, the device of
consonance needs to be distinguished from
alliteration. In contrast to alliteration,
consonance involves repetition of consonant
sounds only.
William Harmon his book A Handbook on
Literature notes that most so-called eye
rhymes (such as word and lord, or blood,
food, and good) are the most common
examples.
Common Consonance Examples
The ship has sailed to the far off shores.
She ate seven sandwiches on a sunny
Sunday last year.
Shelley sells shells by the seashore.
Examples of Consonance
1. The following lines from a song also show
how consonant sounds have been used
repeatedly.
Rap rejects my tape deck, ejects projectile
Whether Jew or gentile, I rank top percentile
Many styles, more powerful than gamma
rays
My grammar pays, like Carlos Santana
plays.
(The lines have been taken from the song
Zealots by Fugees.)
2. Just like the poem T was later when the
summer went by Emily Dickson:
T was later when the summer went

It is classified as a literary term used in both

poetry as well as prose. For instance, the
words chuckle, fickle, and kick are consonant

Than when the cricket came,

And yet we knew that gentle clock
Meant nought but going home.

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T was sooner when the cricket went
Than when the winter came,
Yet that pathetic pendulum
Keeps esoteric time.
It can be seen from the lines that Emily
Dickinson has made use of the consonant
m frequently in the italicized words.
3. Shall I Wasting in Despair is another
example written by George Wither.
Great, or good, or kind, or fair,
I will neer 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?
Here the use of consonance can be seen
through the letters such as r, d, and f.
4. Another poem by Dickinson that makes
good use of consonance is As imperceptibly
as Grief.
A Quietness distilled
As Twilight long begun,
Or Nature spending with herself
Sequestered Afternoon
Here Emily Dickinson has relied on the
consonant n to create the intended effect.
Functions of Consonance
Consonance is commonly employed in a
range of situations ranging from poetry to
prose writing. However, as the above
narrated examples highlight, the use of
consonance is significantly greater in poetry
writing than its use in the prose form. The
use of consonance provides the structure of
poetry with a rhyming effect. The writer
normally employs the tool of consonance for
the purpose of reiterating the significance of
an idea or theme. Further, the use of the
device makes the structure of poetry or

prose appealing for the reader. The poet

generally makes use of consonance in an
attempt to underscore the emotions behind
their words that simple words cannot convey.
Furthermore, the use of consonance adds a
lyrical feeling to the poetry that otherwise
cannot be added. The significance of the use
of consonance in poetry is enhanced by the
fact that it is often used to make the imagery
employed clearer. It acts as a tool that
enables the poet to formulate a fine and
powerful structure for his poetry and create a
background for the themes underlying the
poetry.
Repetition Definition
Repetition is a literary device that repeats
the same words or phrases a few times to
make an idea clearer. There are several
types of repetitions commonly used in both
prose and poetry.
As a rhetorical device, it could be a word, a
phrase or a full sentence or a poetical line
repeated to emphasize its significance in the
entire text. Repetition is not distinguished
solely as a figure of speech but more as a
rhetorical device.
Types of Repetition
The following examples of repetition are
classified according to the different types of
repetition used both in literature and in daily
conversations.
Anadiplosis: Repetition of the last word in a
line or clause.
Anaphora: Repetition of words at the start of
clauses or verses.
Antistasis: Repetition of word s or phrases in
opposite sense.
Diacope: Repetition of words broken by some
other words.
Epanalepsis: Repetition of same words at the
end and start of a sentence.
Epimone: Repetition of a phrase (usually a
question) to stress a point.
Epiphora: Repetition of the same word at the
end of each clause.

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Gradatio: A construction in poetry where the
last word of one clause becomes the first of
the next and so on.

by S.T. Coleridge. The poem tells a story

where a seafarer tells about his adventures
in the sea.

Negative-Positive Restatement: Repetition of

an idea first in negative terms and then in
positive terms.

Example 4

Polyptoton: Repetition of words of the same

root with different endings.
Symploce: It is a combination of anaphora
and epiphora in which repetition is both at
the end and at the beginning.

My conscience hath a thousand several

tongues,
And every tongue brings in a several tale,
And every tale condemns me for a villain.

Example 1

These lines have been taken from Richard

III by William Shakespeare, Richard. These
lines show the repetition of a phrase that
occurs at the end of the first and then start
of the second line. It is called anadiplosis.

Im nobody! Who are you?

Example 5

Are you nobody too?

A horse is a horse, of course, of course,

Then theres a pair of us-dont tell!

And no one can talk to a horse of course

Theyd banish us you know.

That is, of course, unless the horse is the

famous Mister Ed.

Repetition Examples from Literature

These lines have been taken from Im

nobody! Who are You? by Emily Dickinson.
Observe how she has used nobody to
emphasize her point in her poem to create
an association with the person she is talking
about.
Example 2
Because I do not hope to turn again
Because I do not hope
Because I do not hope to turn
These three lines have been taken from AshWednesday authored by T. S. Eliot, a famous
modern poet of the 20th century. The
repetition of a full phrase shows us mastery
the poet has acquired in using words and
phrases to make his point clear and
emphasize that he has no hope of coming
back.
Example 3
I looked upon the rotting sea,
And drew my eyes away;
I looked upon the rotting deck,
And there the dead men lay.
These lines have been taken from the
famous poem Rime of the Ancient Mariner

These lines are among the repetition

examples from the theme song of Mr. Ed, a
1960s TV program. This is an example of a
diacope type of rhetorical repetition. There is
repetition but it is broken up with several
other words.
Function of Repetition
The beauty of using figurative language is
that the pattern it arranges the words into is
nothing like our ordinary speech. It is not
only stylistically appealing but it also helps
convey the message in much more engaging
and notable way. The aura that is created by
the usage of repetition cannot be achieved
through any other device. It has the ability of
making a simple sentence sound like a
dramatic one. It enhances the beauty of a
sentence and stresses on the point of main
significance. Repetition often uses word
associations to express the ideas and
emotions in an indirect manner. The beauty
of reading a piece with repetition in it is the
balance where we, as readers, have to
decipher such associations and understand
the underlying meanings.
Repetition as a literary term can be used
both constructively and destructively. The

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constructive usage encompasses functions
such as, putting emphasis on a point,
confirming a fact or an idea, cohesion,
mimesis, transition, showing impartiality and
or describing a notion. The same literary
device when used destructively can
disintegrate the entire piece of writing.
Erasure, redundancy, continuous present,
fragmentation, copying and habitual misuse
of the literary device are among the
destructive effects.
Cacophony Definition
If we speak literally, cacophony points to a
situation where there is a mixture of harsh
and inharmonious sounds. In literature,
however, the term refers to the use of words
with sharp, harsh, hissing and unmelodious
sounds primarily those of consonants to
achieve desired results.
Common Cacophony Examples
In everyday life, one of the examples of
cacophony would be the amalgamation of
different sounds you hear in a busy city
street or market. You hear sounds of
vehicles, announcements on loudspeakers,
music, and chatter of people or even a dog
barking at the same time and without any
harmony. You can rightly point to the
situation as being the cacophony of a busy
street or market. We can notice the
manifestation of cacophony in language as
well; for instance in the sentence:
I detest war because cause of war is always
trivial.
The part because cause is cacophony as
because is followed by a word cause that has
a similar sound but different meaning.
Generally, it sounds unpleasant as the same
sound is repeated in two different words.

explosive delivery e.g., p, b, d, g, k, ch-, shetc.

Examples of Cacophony in Literature
In literature, the unpleasantness of
cacophony is utilized by writers to present
dreadful or distasteful situations. Let us look
at a few Cacophony examples in literature:
Example #1
Abundant use of cacophonic words could be
noticed in Lewis Carrolls nonsense poem
Jabberwocky in his novel Through the
Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There:
Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,an
And the mome raths outgrabe.
Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!
In the excerpt, we see a collection of
nonsense words which are at the same time
unmelodious. After reading the poem,
Alice, the main character of the novel,
gives her impression that reflects clearly the
purpose of the poem. She says:
Somehow it seems to fill my head with
ideasonly I dont exactly know what they
are! However, somebody killed something:
thats clear, at any rate.
Example #2
An example of cacophony is found in Hart
Cranes poem The Bridge:

Similarly, a discordant sound of a musical

band, tuning up their musical instruments, is
also an example of cacophony.

The nasal whine of power whips a new

universe.

Cacophony and Euphony

Where spouting pillars spoor the evening

sky,

Cacophony is opposite to euphony which is

the use of words having pleasant and
harmonious effects. Generally, the vowels,
semi-vowels and the nasal consonants e.g. l,
m, n, r, y are considered to be euphonious.
Cacophony, on the other hand, uses
consonants in combinations which requires

Under the looming stacks of the gigantic

power house
Stars prick the eyes with sharp ammoniac
proverbs,

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New verities, new inklings in the velvet
hummed
Of dynamos, where hearings leash is
strummed.
Powers script, wound, bobbin-bound,
refinedIs stopped to the slap of belts on booming
spools, spurred
Into the bulging bouillon, harnessed jelly of
the stars.
The disorder and confusion of the industrial
world has been expressed here by the writer
through deliberate selection of cacophonic
words and phrases.
Example #3
Look at the following excerpt from Jonathan
Swifts Gullivers Travel:
And being no stranger to the art of war, I
have him a description of cannons, culverins,
muskets, carabines, pistols, bullets, powder,
swords, bayonets, battles, sieges, retreats,
attacks, undermines, countermines,
bombardments, sea-fights
In order to describe the destructive
consequences of war, the writer chooses
words and arranges them in an order that
they produce an effect that is unmelodious,
harsh and jarring that corresponds with the
subject matter.

situation the writer has described through

words.

Definition of Euphony
The literary device euphony is derived from
the Greek word euphonos that means
sweet-voiced. It can be defined as the use of
words and phrases that are distinguished as
having a wide range of noteworthy melody or
loveliness in the sounds they create. It gives
pleasing and soothing effects to the ears due
to repeated vowels and smooth consonants.
It can be used with other literary devices like
alliteration, assonance and rhyme to create
more melodic effects. Examples of euphony
are commonly found in poetry and literary
prose.

Features of Euphony
All euphony examples share the following
features:
Euphony involves the use of long vowels that
are more melodious than consonants.
Euphony involves the use of harmonious
consonants such as l, m, n, r and soft f
and v sounds.
Euphony uses soft consonants or semivowels w, s, y and th or wh
extensively to create more pleasant sounds.

Example #4

Examples of Euphony in Literature

Read the following lines from Coleridges

Rime to the Ancient Mariner:

Example #1

With throats unslaked, with black lips baked,

Agape they heard me call.
These lines illustrate cacophony by using
words black, baked and agape which
corresponds with the severity of situation
faced by the Mariner and other people on
board.

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,

Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch
-eves run;
To bend with apples the mossd cottagetrees,

Function of Cacophony

And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;

Writers use cacophony as a tool to describe a

discordant situation using discordant words.
The use of such words allows readers to
picture and feel the unpleasantness of the

To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel

shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,

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And still more, later flowers for the bees,

Full-faced above the valley stood the moon;

(Ode to Autumn by John Keats)

And like a downward smoke, the slender

stream

There are many different words and phrases

that can create euphony. However, in the
given poem, Keats has used euphony in the
whole poem which gives soothing and
pleasing effects. Long vowel sounds like
mellow, maturing, load, ripeness and semivowels like s and w sounds are
exquisitely used.
Example #2
Success is counted sweetest
By those who neer succeed.
To comprehend a nectar
Requires sorest need.Not one of all the
purple host

Along the cliff to fall and pause and fall did

seem.
(The Lotos-Eaters by Alfred Lord Tennyson)
Tennyson is famous for using euphony in
most of his poems. He uses long vowels and
semi-vowels of soft consonants. The long
vowels such as mounting, soon, languid and
slender whereas soft vowels include l, s, f
and w sounds that are giving sense of
pleasantness.
Example #4
.Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day

Who took the flag to-day

To the last syllable of recorded time,

Can tell the definition,

And all our yesterdays have lighted fools

So clear, of victory,

The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief

candle!

As he, defeated, dying,

On whose forbidden ear
The distant strains of triumph
Break, agonized and clear!
(Success by Emily Dickinson)
In this poem, Emily Dickinson has used soft
and harmonious consonants to create
euphony. For example, s, v and f
sounds are running throughout the poem.
Such words are melodic in nature, hence
they produce pleasing sounds.
Example #3
Courage! he said, and pointed toward the
land,
This mounting wave will roll us shoreward
soon.
In the afternoon they came unto a land
In which it seemed always afternoon.
All round the coast the languid air did swoon,
Breathing like one that hath a weary dream.

Lifes but a walking shadow, a poor player

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
(Macbeth by William Shakespeare)

The language of Shakespeare is a great

example of euphony. He has used pleasant,
harmonious and musical sounds in the
above-mentioned excerpt from Macbeth.
Here the words with euphony are shown in
bold; those are l, s, f, w and th.

Functions of Euphony
The purpose of using euphony is to bring
about peaceful and pleasant feelings in a
piece of literary work. The readers enjoy
reading such pieces of literature or poems.
The long vowels create more melodious
effects than short vowels and consonants,
making the sounds harmonious and

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soothing. The pronunciation and enunciation
become agreeable and easy. Furthermore,
euphony is used in poetry and speeches to
convey messages effectively to the audience
and the readers.