Assonance is a literary technique where the same or similar vowel sound is repeated. It creates a flow between words – which sounds lovely. And if we’re writing about excitement or happiness then FABULOUS 🙂 But what if the thing flowing is sadness or hatred?! Ugh.

ACTIVITY 1
Find examples of assonance in the lyrics. What is the assonance suggestive of? What is ‘flowing’? What emotion is the speaker trying to convey? (To help with this second part of the question, you can isolate the vowel sound and sound it out loud; if you heard someone making that noise, what feeling would you imagine them to be experiencing?). What other thoughts do you have about the assonance and the effect it has. You might want to consider where the assonance is positioned (e.g. in the middle of the verse, at the end of lines etc.).
You’ll find some of my thoughts towards the bottom of this page, but don’t rush to read those. Trust your own instincts and have fun coming up with ideas!
Ready? Okay, let’s go…
a) Pale Waves: ‘Glasgow’
"One glass of wine and somehow you changed
When I left you in Glasgow
I remember crying all the way home
Yeah, I had to go and get myself out of there
Oh, 'cause there was nothing left
Nothing left for us to repair"
b) ADMT: ‘Wish You Loved You’ “Why do you though kick yourself when you’re down? When through the eyes of so many, you’re wearing a crown Searching for something to help when nowt will be found It’s time for you to pick yourself off the ground And I’ll reach out my hand (ooh), ’cause I’ve been there before (hey) I know that feeling too well when you don’t feel like dancing no more But I’d never dance with no other, ’cause it won’t be the same”
c) Architects: ‘when we were young’
"Only now we hear the shouts fading out."
d) Lady Gaga: ‘Hold My Hand‘
"I can see everything you're blind to now
Your prayers will be answered, let God whisper how"
e) chloe moriondo: ‘nice pup’
"I'm close to baring my teeth 'cause You've left me outside for weeks and I'm tired of sleeping in the rain all night And I'll still curl up at your feet and Try to give you everything you need and I'll be a nice pup if that's how you want me."
Pales Waves pepper this passage with ‘oo’, ‘oh’ and ‘ow’ sounds. The omnipresence of these sounds suggests the associated feelings are dominating the speaker’s mind! Each of the sounds can either be assoicated with suprise, wonder or pain – perhaps highlighting the mixed feelings at the heart of the experience being described. The wonder feels relevant given the speaker’s admiration of the lover she’s writing about; the surprise fits too given the apparent speed and changing nature of the relationship; the pain also makes sense given the separation of speaker and lover. All in all, Pale Waves do a brilliant job of capturing the multi-dimensional experience of love.
ADMT loads this opening section with assonance. There are so many ‘ow’ sounds! The sense of pain is absolutely at the forefront of these lines and the fact that they’re taken from the beginning of the song suggests the hurt is dominating the speaker’s mind from the off. Later, the ‘ow’ sounds become outnumbered by ‘oo’ sounds, implying that the emotional state has lightened somewhat.
We love Architects. As beautiful as they are uncompromising, their use the ‘ow’ sound feels both explosive and empathetic. Maybe we’re hearing the actual shouts fading out or maybe the ‘ow’ sound is actually suggestive of the pain being experienced by the speaker. It hurts him just to listen to those shouts. Or maybe the ‘ow’ sound is meant to reflect BOTH of those things: the physical, very real shouting AND the internal agony created by having to listen to those shouts fade away. Listen to the track, consider the ‘ow’ sound and see what you think.
When listening to Lady Gaga, our attention is again drawn to that ‘ow’ sound. Maybe the poet wants us to think about the pain that’s come from the metaphorical blindness – or maybe it’s suggestive of God’s ability to heal that pain. Listen to the track, consider the assonance and see what you think.
We like chloe moriondo’s ‘ee’ sound because it mimics the baring of teeth that she references. There’s a quiet sense of danger looming! Listen to the track, consider the assonance and see what you think.
ACTIVITY 2
Write your own poem. Choose to use those ‘ow’ or ‘ee’ sounds for the reasons explored above. Or maybe you would rather use an ‘oo’ (surprise? admiration?), a soft ‘ah’ (relief? adoration?), a hard ‘a'(agony? frustration?) – or something else. Whatever you do, have fun!
Now. have a go at writing about your experiences as a teenager with a little help from the inspirational Taylor Swift!