# Consonance > The repetition of a consonant sound in words close together, usually inside or at the end of the words: "pitter-patter," "odds and ends," "struts and frets." It gives a line texture and rhythm. Also known as consonant rhyme, consonant repetition ## In practice Consonance gives a line its texture. Vowels carry the music of words; consonants are the edges, and repeating them changes how a line feels in the mouth. A run of hard k and t sounds ("the clock ticked, the kettle cracked") sounds clipped and tense, while a run of soft s, sh and l sounds ("the slow hush of the sea") sounds smooth, calm or menacing, depending on what the words describe. In screenwriting, it matters most in dialogue that will be spoken and in the few action lines meant to be read for rhythm. A threat with repeated hard consonants sounds harder; a lullaby built on soft ones sounds softer. Actors feel consonance before they think about it, which is one reason some lines are a pleasure to say and others never sound right. The common mistakes are piling on a sound until it becomes a tongue twister, and stacking sibilant s sounds in a line that has to be said clearly, where they hiss on a microphone. Use consonance to reinforce what a line already means, keep it to a few words, and test the line aloud. ## Consonance in a threat **A landlord makes a visit** ``` INT. TENEMENT STAIRWELL - NIGHT A bare bulb. ROSA (20s) blocks her apartment door with her body. Below her on the stairs, MR. KRAMER (60s) taps his cane on each step as he climbs. KRAMER Rent's late, Rosa. Locks get changed. Things get lost. Kids get cold. He reaches the top step. Tap. ROSA Then get it over with. ``` Kramer's lines repeat hard t and k sounds (late, locks, get, lost, kids, cold), and they break into short sentences that land like the taps of his cane. The consonance makes the threat sound like what it is, a list of blows. Rosa's answer uses the same hard t in "get it" and turns the sound back on him. ## What consonance is Consonance is the repetition of the same consonant sound in words that are close together, usually in the middle or at the end of the words: "pitter-patter," "odds and ends," "a blessing in disguise," "struts and frets." The word comes from the Latin consonare, to sound together. The repeated sound can sit anywhere in the words, but the term usually describes repetition that is not at the start. Repetition at the start is alliteration, and many writers treat alliteration as a special kind of consonance. As with all sound devices, the sound is what counts, not the letter: "laugh" and "cliff" share an f sound, "cat" and "kick" a k. One named kind is sibilance, the repetition of hissing sounds such as s, sh and z. It is common enough to have its own name because it is so audible: a line full of it seems to whisper or hiss, which poets use for secrets, snakes, wind and the sea. ## Consonance examples in literature and film Shakespeare's Macbeth describes life as "a poor player / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage," and the repeated t and s sounds in struts and frets make the actor's strutting sound busy and small. Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" opens a stanza with "the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain," a famous run of sibilance that makes the room rustle as you read. Gerard Manley Hopkins built his poems on dense consonance, as in "Glory be to God for dappled things," where the d, p and l sounds give the line its speckled texture. Emily Dickinson used consonance to make near rhymes, pairing words that share their final consonants but not their vowels, a habit that gave her poems their off-balance music. In film and television, consonance shows up in catchphrases and in villains. Lines written to be quoted often repeat a consonant in the stressed syllables so they snap, and a villain's quiet speech often leans on s and sh sounds so it sounds smooth and dangerous at once. Writers rarely plan this consciously, but rewriting a line until it sounds right often adds it. ## Consonance vs. alliteration and assonance All three repeat sounds in nearby words. Consonance repeats a consonant sound anywhere in the words, usually in the middle or at the end ("the lumpy, bumpy road"). Alliteration repeats the first sound of the words ("big brown bear"). Assonance repeats a vowel sound ("go slow over the road"). Consonance and rhyme are also close relatives. When two words share the consonants after their vowel but not the vowel itself ("black" and "block," "years" and "yours"), they make a consonant rhyme, a kind of slant rhyme. Poets use it to link words without the chime of a perfect rhyme. Lines often mix the devices. "Sweet smell of success" alliterates on its s sounds and repeats the s inside "success" too. You do not need to classify every repeat; it is enough to hear which sound a line is leaning on and whether it suits what the line means. ## How to use consonance Match the consonant to the effect. Hard stops (b, d, g, k, p, t) sound abrupt and suit anger, action, comedy and threat. Soft, continuous sounds (f, l, m, n, s, sh, v) sound smooth and suit calm, seduction, grief and quiet menace. Choose words whose meaning fits first, then prefer the ones that also carry the right sound. Keep it in the stressed syllables. A repeated consonant the reader barely says (the t in "often") does little, while one in the stressed part of a word is heard every time. Two or three repeats in a phrase are enough to be felt. Test dialogue aloud for the opposite problem too. Lines thick with s sounds hiss on a microphone, and lines with clusters of hard consonants ("sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep") are tongue twisters. If an actor has to say it, make sure it can be said. ## Official sources & context Sources reviewed Oct 29, 2026 - [Merriam-Webster — Consonance](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/consonance) [Tune how every character's lines sound with Dialogue Pass](https://www.inkwell.software/skills/dialogue-pass) ## Common questions ### What is consonance in simple terms? Consonance is when the same consonant sound repeats in words that are close together, usually inside or at the end of the words, such as the t in "pitter-patter" or the ck in "tick-tock." It gives a line texture and rhythm. ### What are some examples of consonance? Everyday examples include "pitter-patter," "odds and ends," "tick-tock" and "a blessing in disguise." Literary ones include Shakespeare's "struts and frets" in Macbeth and Poe's "silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain" in "The Raven." ### What is the difference between consonance and alliteration? Alliteration repeats the starting sound of nearby words ("big bad bear"). Consonance repeats a consonant sound anywhere in the words, most often in the middle or at the end ("odds and ends"). Many writers count alliteration as a kind of consonance. ### Is consonance the same as assonance? No. Consonance repeats consonant sounds, while assonance repeats vowel sounds. "Pitter-patter" is consonance (the t), and "go slow over the road" is assonance (the long o). A line can use both. ### What is sibilance? Sibilance is a kind of consonance that repeats hissing sounds such as s, sh and z: "the silken, sad, uncertain rustling" in Poe's "The Raven." It can make a line sound soft and secretive or sharp and sinister, depending on the words. ### Why do writers use consonance? Consonance links words by their sound, gives a line rhythm and makes its feeling audible: hard consonants sound harsh or urgent, soft ones gentle or sly. Poets also use it to make near rhymes, and speechwriters and screenwriters use it to make lines easier to remember. ## Related terms - [Alliteration](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/alliteration): The repetition of the same starting sound in words close together: "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers," "busy as a bee." It makes names, titles, slogans and lines of dialogue stick. - [Assonance](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/assonance): The repetition of a vowel sound in words close together, whatever the consonants around it: "the rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain." It shapes a line's mood and makes near rhymes. - [Onomatopoeia](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/onomatopoeia): A word that imitates the sound it names: buzz, hiss, crash, sizzle, meow. Writers use it to put a sound straight into the reader's ear, and screenwriters use it in action lines to cue the sounds a scene depends on. - [Dialogue](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/dialogue): Spoken lines under a character cue. In Plot, a dialogue pass proposes changes, mostly to the spoken lines, that you accept or reject one at a time. --- Canonical page: