Assonant rhymes constitute a literary figure.
The assonant adjective is used to describe those terms that, after their last accented vowel, share the vowel sounds in identical order . We also speak of assonant verses when they have this same characteristic.
Words are assonant when, after their last stressed vowel, they present the same stressed vowels in each syllable. The exception is vowels that do not have an accent in diphthongs. The inclusion of these words in a verse generates an assonant rhyme . Consonant rhymes , on the other hand, imply the coincidence of the letters after the accented vowel.
assonant rhyme
It should be remembered that rhymes are formed from the repetition of sounds . The usual thing is that the repetition is made from the accented vowel that is located at the end of the verse , in the last position. If, in two or more verses, the rhyme is created through the coincidence of the accented vowels of the different syllables after the last stressed vowel, the rhyme is assonant.
For example:
The women marched singing, / happy after the explosion, / relaxed by the wine / and ready to continue fighting.
In this case, as can be seen, the example presents an assonant type rhyme that is constructed through the repetition of the vowel sequences AO ( singing / fighting ) and IO ( burst / wine ).
The use of assonant rhymes is a resource chosen by many poets.
Ease of creation
For reasons of ease when constructing verses, assonant rhymes are more frequent than consonant rhymes , since the latter impose more restrictions on writing. As a result of this, it should be noted that the assonant rhyme is also known as imperfect or partial , precisely because it does not require the coincidence of all the sounds, but only the vowels.
Choosing one type of rhyme over another should always be done for the sake of the work and not out of a desire to exhibit certain technical skills. Each one can offer very different effects , and that in itself does not carry a qualitative value but rather a stylistic one. If in the search for a perfect rhyme the verses lose their essence and become forced, then it is of no use to find all the consonant terms, but rather it is preferable to opt for assonance.
The assonant rhyme as a literary figure
Assonant rhyme is also known as assonance and is a literary figure , that is, an unconventional way of using words. Thanks to the literary figure it is possible to enhance the expressiveness of the language through certain semantic, grammatical or phonic particularities, which distance the terms from their usual terrain, contrary to what we can achieve with the trope .
Needless to say, it is not common to find literary figures in everyday speech or in informal or spontaneous writings, since these are resources designed to meticulously embellish works . Other names by which literary figures are known outside of academia are rhetorical, stylistic or expressive devices, and figures of speech .
The importance of alliteration
It is correct to say that assonant rhyme is related to alliteration , the repetition or reiteration of similar phonemes within a literary fragment or text. A clear example of alliteration can be seen in the following fragment of a poem by Rubén Darío: "with the aleve wing of the slight fan."
The objective of alliteration, as well as that of assonant rhyme, is to produce a sound effect thanks to which the expressiveness of the work is enhanced. It is important to note that some Spanish theorists do not include it in the group of rhythmic elements of versification but consider it a mere stylistic resource, since it is not governed by any metrical norm.