THE assonance is figure of speech which consists of the repetition of vowel phonemes, especially in syllables tonics, to infer a sound and establish specific sound effects in the text. It is a linguistic resource often used in poems or song lyrics, but it can also occur in prose texts.
See too:Polysyndeton – figure of speech that repeatedly uses a conjunction
Assonance examples
Note the following examples:
“This menina
so smallina
want to be dancingina"
(Cecília Meireles)
Note the repetition of the vowel phoneme [i] and [at]. It is a sound effect that brings plasticity to the text, that is, the repetition of the phoneme composes the meaning effect of the verses.
Sugar Cane Fields Forever
[…] I'm a mulTheI'm notTheI'm
In the sense lTheI'm
MulTheI'm democratácoasterThel [...]
VELOSO, Caetano. Sugar Cane Fields Forever
In the excerpt of Caetano Veloso's music, we have the repetition of the phoneme / a /, thus configuring assonance. In the same text, we have the repetition of the phoneme / t /, which configures alliteration.
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Assonance also occurs in prose texts. See the example below, written by Guimaraes Rosa.
“Cassian thinksor, smokeor, imagineor, trotor, schismor, and, already two leagues from the camp, on the northern road, his calculations found a conclusion:
hitHey my idhey: I couldn't, for lHey of rHey, admit the extract from that.”
Assonance and alliteration
While assonance promotes repetition of vowel sounds, especially stressed syllables, alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds.
Note the example below:
"THE Blaugh of Brasil Bkiss the Blifts.”
(Castro Alves, “Navio Negreiro”)
Note the repetition of the phoneme /b/. It is a sound effect, a trademark of the writer Castro Alves, which brings plasticity to the text, that is, the repetition of the phoneme composes the effect of the work's meaning.
See too: Anacoluto – figure of speech characterized by the topicalization of a term at the beginning of the utterance
solved exercises
Question 1 – (Makiyama) in the title redheads unite the author of the text created an effect between the words by playing a game between them through figures of speech, of which we can highlight:
A) solecism.
B) pleonasm.
C) hyperbatic.
D) zeugma.
E) assonance.
Resolution
Alternative E. Repetition of the vowel phoneme / i /.
Question 2 - (And either)
To bro Caetano
what to make of fool's gold
When a sweet bard cries out,
In panda candles, your weird rhymes?
Geography of truths, fake Guanabaras
Miss toothless, tropical sloths?
mouth full of teeth
of an implacable smile
Die every moment
That devours the voice of the dead, and with that,
Resurrect vampire, without the slightest warning
[...] And I am wolf-cake? cake wolf
Kind of rhyming with fool's gold?
Oh, Narcissus Ornamental Fish!
Tease me, tease me again 1
Or in Bantu Bahia
Or in Portuguese from Portugal
From Christmas
[...]
Tease me (kid me, tease me).
WOLF. Available in: http://vagalume.uol.com.br. Accessed on: 14 Aug. 2009 (adapted).
In the lyrics of the song presented, composer Lobão explores several resources of the Portuguese language, in order to achieve aesthetic or meaning effects. In this lyrics, the author explores the sound extract of the language and the use of colloquial terms in the following passage:
A) “When a sweet bard cries out to all” (v. 2)
B) "In panda candles, your weird rhymes?" (v. 3)
C) “Who devours the voice of the dead” (v. 9)
D) “wolf-cake//Kind to rhyme with fool's gold? (v. 11-12)
E) “Tease me, tease me again” (v. 14)
Resolution
Alternative D. The author makes use of assonance in the repetition of the vowel phoneme / o /, in order to achieve aesthetic or meaning effects.
by Marcelo Sartel
grammar teacher
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SARTEL, Marcelo. "Assonance"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/gramatica/assonancia.htm. Accessed on June 28, 2021.
