Euphony, alliteration and assonance

Euphony is the sound arrangement of the utterance which intensifies its logical meaning. The phonetic aspect of the word corresponds to the idea expressed. If the message is pleasant and mild, the mild and pleasant sounds increase the impression.

Ex. She is like a beautiful exotic flower that must be sheltered from bitter winds.

If the statement is harsh or conveys the idea of vitality, if it is energetic or tragic the phonetic aspect is expected to be in line with the idea expressed.

Ex. Isabel is infinitely good for me. I admire her more than any woman I’ve ever known. She has a wonderful brain and she is as good as she is beautiful. I respect her energy and her ambition. She was born to make success in life. I’m entirely unworthy of her.

The reverse euphony is cacophony which is a sense of strain and discomfort in pronouncing or hearing. An example of it is provided by the unspeakable combination of sounds found in R. Browning: Nor soul helps flesh now more than flesh helps soul.

Alliteration is a phonetic stylistic device which aims at imparting a melodic effect to the utterance. The essence of this device lies in the repetition of similar sounds, in particular consonant sounds, in close succession, particularly at the beginning of successive words: " The possessive in st inct never st ands st ill (J. Galsworthy) or, " D eep into the d arkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, d oubting, d reaming d reams no mortals ever d ared to d ream before" (E. A. Poe).

Alliteration, like most phonetic expressive means, does not bear any lexical or other meaning unless we agree that a sound meaning exists as such. But even so we may not be able to specify clearly the character of this meaning, and the term will merely suggest that a certain amount of information is contained in the repetition of sounds, as is the case with the repetition of lexical units.

Ex. She was a good b usiness woman and you had to get up early in the morning to b est her in the b argain.

The roots of alliteration are very deep in the English language. To know that we have only to look at idiomatic expressions or title of books:

P ride and p rejudice

B arking dogs seldom b ite

L et sleeping dogs l ie

Beauty l ies in l oveless eyes

All r oads lead to R ome

A p enny saved is a p enny gained

Alliteration is widely used in folklore, in proverbs, sayings, traditional pairs of words. In English belles-lettres style it is regarded as an emphatic phonetic means that aims at producing a strong melodic and emotional effect.

Assonance is the repetition of the same or similar vowel in close succession: Ex.: T i me and t i de wait for no man.

Ex. For the moon never b ea ns, without bringing me dr ea ms of the beautiful Annabel L ee and the stars never r i se but I feel the bright eye s of the beautiful Annabel L ee.