Assonance & Consonance

Assonance is repeated vowel sounds. Consonance is repeated consonant sounds. "The cat sat on the mat" has assonance (short "a") and consonance (hard "t"). It sounds good without being rhyme.

Why? Because poetry is meant to be heard, even silently. "Deep into that darkness peering" has assonance ("ee" sounds) and consonance (hard consonants). It sounds ominous. You feel it in your mouth. "Fat" and "obese" have different sounds—one crude, one clinical.

Use assonance and consonance to create mood without being obvious. Hard consonants feel aggressive. Soft consonants feel gentle. Long vowels feel slow. Short feel quick. Read your poem aloud and strengthen these patterns intentionally.