What Are Sound Devices in Poetry? Examples and Types
Poetic sound devices help the reader “hear” a poem. The way a poet
structures their stanzas and chooses their words can bring a poem to life.
Keep reading to learn more about common types of sound devices in poetry,
as well as examples from famous poems.
Sound Devices in Poetry
Did you know that repeating a word or selecting a rhyme scheme can
create sound in a poem? Repetition and rhyme are only a few of the many
sound devices found in beautiful poetry. Check out these types of sound
devices and see how many resonate with you!
Alliteration in Poetry
Alliteration is a term for repeated letter sounds (usually consonants, but
not always) at the stressed part of two or more words. One example is
“glowing golden grains.” Another word for alliteration is initial
rhyme or head rhyme.
Assonance in Poetry
Like alliteration, assonance is the repetition of sounds in multiple words.
Assonance describes repeated vowel sounds in the middle of words with
different consonant end sounds. You can see assonance in the phrase “faded
gray waves.”
A great example of assonance comes from “The Raven” by Edgar Allen
Poe:
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore…
(Poe, “The Raven”)
“Dreary” and “weary” are rhyming words because they have the same
ending sound, but “weak” shares the same /ea/ vowel sound as the
surrounding words. “The Raven” contains several examples of assonance
that both keep the poem moving and reflect the speaker’s slow descent into
madness.
Consonance in Poetry
It is tricky to tell the difference between alliteration and consonance.
While alliteration occurs at the stressed syllable in each word, consonance
can happen anywhere, especially at the end of a word. When consonance
happens at the end of the word along with assonance, it’s a rhyme.
An example of consonance occurs in “I Saw a Chapel” by William Blake:
I saw a chapel all of gold
That none did dare to enter in
And many weeping stood without
Weeping mourning worshipping
(Blake, "I Saw a Chapel")
The repeated -ing sound not only sets a pleasing pattern for the reader, it
also creates the sound of church bells ringing.
Onomatopoeia in Poetry
Bang! Zip! Screech! Sound words that are written out are known
as onomatopoeia. Poetry uses onomatopoeia for both sensory language and
short, choppy lines. See how D.H. Lawrence uses onomatopoeia in “Piano” to
describe the sounds of a piano:
Softly, in the dusk, a woman is singing to me;
Taking me back down the vista of years, till I see
A child sitting under the piano, in the boom of the tingling strings
And pressing the small, poised feet of a mother who smiles as she sings.
(Lawrence, "Piano")
Repetition in Poetry
Repeating a word in a poem may not make sense until you read it out
loud. Repetition allows the speaker to emphasize a particular word and cause
a desired sound in a poem. Check out the first stanza of T.S. Eliot’s “Ash
Wednesday” for an example of repetition:
Because I do not hope to turn again
Because I do not hope
Because I do not hope to turn
Desiring this man's gift and that man's scope
I no longer strive to strive towards such things
(Why should the agèd eagle stretch its wings?)
Why should I mourn?
The vanished power of the usual reign?
(Eliot, "Ash Wednesday")
Two examples of repetition – “because I do not hope” and “why should”
force the reader to ask these questions more than once. They reaffirm the
prevalence of such thoughts in the speaker’s mind. You can learn more about
the different types of repetition with these explanations and examples.
Rhyme in Poetry
Even people who do not read much poetry can recognize a rhyme.
Rhyming words have the same end sound repeated at the end of a line.
Many poems, such as free verse poems, do not use a particular rhyme
scheme.
Robert Frost uses an ABAAB rhyme scheme in “The Road Not Taken” to
strong effect:
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth…
(Frost, “The Road Not Taken”)
The first, third, and fourth lines rhyme, while the second and fifth lines
rhyme. You can also find rhyme within a line called internal rhyme. Learn
more about the different types of rhyme.
Rhythm in Poetry
The rhythm of a poem is its beat. It marks the accented syllables as well
as the downbeats. You can track a poem’s rhythm by its feet and meter.
Clap to the beat of the first stanza of Emily Dickinson’s poem “Because I
could not stop for Death” to see rhythm in action:
Because I could not stop for Death –
He kindly stopped for me –
The Carriage held but just Ourselves –
And Immortality.
(Dickinson, “Because I could not stop for Death”)
Lines 1 and 3 are in iambic tetrameter – four feet with the stress on the
second syllable of each foot. Lines 2 and 4 are in iambic trimeter, which also
stress the second syllables but in only three feet instead of four.
Sounds Devices in Music
Music with lyrics depends on the same poetic sound devices that you
have just read about. You may not be able to immediately identify instances
of alliteration, assonance, or onomatopoeia in a song, but once you view the
lyrics as a poem, it becomes easier. Put on your favorite song and see how
many poetic sound devices you can find!
Poetry in Our Lives
Chances are, you use these poetic sound devices in your everyday
conversation. But poetry doesn’t stop at what you can hear – it needs to
activate all five senses to truly set the scene.
