Which line demonstrates assonance most clearly?

• A. The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain.
• B. The sun shines down on the bay.
• C. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
• D. Bright banners billowed across the crowd.

Answer: (A)

Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds within nearby words. In the line about rain in Spain, the long “ai” sound repeats in rain, Spain, mainly, and plain. That recurring vowel sound across several words is the defining feature of assonance. Other lines tend to rely on alliteration (repeating initial consonants) or straightforward end rhymes, but they don’t center on a repeated vowel sound the way this line does. So this line shows assonance most clearly.