Bowman PatriciaAssonance, a poetic device characterized by the juxtaposition of similar vowel sounds within a line or passage, played a somewhat different role in the poetry of Robert Frost compared to poets like Swinburne and Tennyson, who employed it deliberately and effectively as part of their poetic theory. In fact, Frost seemed to aim to avoid assonance, as revealed in a letter dated July 4, 1913, to John Bartlett.
In this letter, Frost expressed a departure from the prevailing poetic trends of his time, particularly the emphasis on harmonized vowels and consonants as the essence of poetic music. He believed that poets like Swinburne and Tennyson had pursued a path focused on assonance, which he considered to be a “short track.” Frost instead championed his own theory, which he termed “the sound of sense.”
Assonance, in its traditional definition, involves the repetition of similar vowel sounds, often with different consonants, creating a vowel rhyme. However, Frost’s approach to sound in poetry diverged from this conventional understanding. While assonance and consonance can be found incidentally in Frost’s work, they do not hold the same deliberate prominence as in the poetry of Tennyson, for example.
Frost’s concept of “the sound of sense” prioritized the poetic arrangement of words to evoke meaning and tone. Rather than focusing solely on the repetition of specific vowel sounds, Frost aimed to craft lines that resonated with a distinct tone when spoken aloud. He sought to imbue his poetry with a sound that evoked a particular emotional response, one that readers could intuitively recognize and connect with.
In essence, Frost’s exploration of sound in poetry went beyond the mere repetition of vowel sounds; it encompassed the broader interplay between language, meaning, and tone. While definitive instances of assonance may be less pronounced in Frost’s poetry, his unique approach to sound remains a defining characteristic of his poetic style.
