Buzz and hum they cry, And so do we Rage, rage, against the dying of the light. Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight, Toss the glass, boss. The zoo was amazing, especially the lizards and chimpanzees I wish you would mash potatoes in this dish. 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 sound’s the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake. The woods are lovely, dare 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 Sandburg Early Moon: “Poetry is old, ancient, goes back far. It is among the oldest of living things. So 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 Corm McCarthy “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 calcimined 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; 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 sombrero’s, as the subject of the poem is death.
