Home › Glossary › Letter A

Assonant triplet

Rhyme
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A tercet linked by shared vowel sounds rather than consonantal rhyme

Detailed Definition
Assonant triplet is a three-line unit unified by recurring vowel sounds across end words or internal phrases, creating a subtle sonic echo that binds the lines without full rhyme; it offers lyrical cohesion while preserving the flexibility and openness of near-rhyme or vowel harmony.
Example
Example in poetry:
Assonant triplet repeats vowel sounds across three lines: “The lake takes / what the sky makes / in its wake” (hypothetical); Dylan Thomas uses assonant triplets in “Fern Hill” (“green and golden”); Irish poetry often employs assonant triplets in lieu of rhyme; the technique creates sonic cohesion without end-rhyme; Assonant triplet appears in free verse to unify stanzas
Additional Notes
Assonant triplet is a tercet or three-line unit where the predominant sound device is assonance shared between the lines, creating a subtle internal musicality; distinct from a rhyming triplet.
Also Known As
Vowel triplet Assonant tercet Echoing vowels
Skip to main content