The differences between assonant and consonant rhyme

Poetry is one of the most prolific arts throughout history and in which greater transmission of emotions and feelings are reflected through the word. In fact, it means putting into words what a person is feeling or feels about a specific topic. Lorca, Unamuno, Rubén Darío, Machado, Neruda, Rosalía de Castro or Bécquer are just some of the relatively modern Spanish exponents of this art. Within poetry, a great multitude of literary resources can be used. One of which is the rhyme, which although not essential is often used in both poetry and music.

But not all rhymes are the same, and can be classified according to different classifications. Among the two best-known categories we find the assonant rhyme and the consonant rhyme, whose differences we will talk about throughout this article.

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The concept of rhyme

Before distinguishing between assonant and consonant rhyme, it is advisable to briefly review the concept of rhyme. Rhyming is understood as the fact of using a series of sounds or words with repeated or similar elements in two separate sentences, in such a way that a certain resonance is generated between them.

This resonance occurs merely on an aesthetic level, not having to have any relationship at the level of grammar or lexicon.

As we have mentioned, it is a technique widely used at the level of poetry and the use of language in verse, as well as in music. It is part of all elaboration created in verse, configuring the lyrical genre. Even the absence of rhyme is considered a type of rhyme, the white or free rhyme. Its main purpose is to produce a cadence or rhythm that contributes to making the message sent something more beautiful and melodic.

As we have said, there are many types of rhyme depending on characteristics such as the elements rhymed or repeated, their presence or absence or the way in which the different verses. But of all of them, there are two main ones: the assonant and consonant rhyme.

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assonance rhyme

Assonance rhyme is understood to be that which occurs between words of different verses in which they are repeated, from the tonic syllable (specifically from its last vowel), the vowels of the last word of both verses. The consonants present in them can vary enormously, not specifying any relationship between those present in both words and assuming the use of different phonemes and sounds. In this way, the words of both verses do not have to end exactly the same, but their resemblance and resonance is due to the repetition of the vowels.

this kind of rhythm allows greater flexibility when constructing a poem or poetry. They are considered imperfect rhymes, being mainly the sonority of the words that generate it.

An example of an assonance rhyme can be seen in the following fragment of a poem, by Bécquer, in which the even rhymes are assonances (sea and glass, death and eternally, crepe and love):

The sun may cloud over forever. The sea can dry up in an instant. The axis of the earth may be broken. Like a weak crystal. everything will happen! Death may. Cover me with your funereal crape. But it can never go out in me. The flame of your love

Rhyme

Formerly considered as perfect rhymes, consonant rhymes with those that occur when the last word of two (or more) verses contain the same phonemes from the tonic syllable. The sounds are identical, both at the vowel level and at the consonant level. Thus the last word of the rhyming lines has an identical ending.

It is important to note, however, that a rhyme can be consonant without the need for there are consonants in the word in question: it is only that the sound is identical in its whole. It should also be noted that we have said that we are talking about sounds and not letters, and the same letter may not exist exactly in both verses as long as it sounds the same way.

An example of a consonant rhyme can be seen in the following fragment of a poem, in this case by Federico García Lorca (in which we can see how the endings -igo and -ores are repeated):

* I want to cry my sorrow and I tell you. so that you love me and cry for me. in a nightingale night. with a dagger, with kisses and with you

I want to kill the only witness. for the murder of my flowers. and convert my crying and my sweats. in an eternal heap of durum wheat.*

Similarities and differences

The similarities and differences between assonance rhyme and consonant rhyme they are quite obvious. In both cases we are dealing with a literary resource used with great frequency in the lyrical genre and even in other genres and arts. In both cases, the vowels are also used as an element to generate rhythmicity and melody within the work.

On the other hand, the main difference is that in the case of the assonance rhyme there is no overlap completeness of the sounds emitted between the lines that rhyme, while this is the case with consonant rhyme. It may also be more difficult to generate a consonant type rhyme due to the need for them to adapt the same sounds, although on the other hand, assonance rhyme means being clear about what specific sounds must be repeat.