Which lines from the poem "Digging" use assonance? Check all that apply.

A. The squat pen rests; snug as a gun. B. When the spade sinks into gravelly ground:C. Bends low, comes up twenty years awayD. By God, the old man could handle a spade. E. Nicking and slicing neatly, heaving sods

Assonance can be found in letters A, C, D, and E.

Explanation:

Assonance is a literary device that consists of repeating a vowel sound in words that are close to each other. Assonance can take place having any position within the words (beginning, middle, or ending). What is importance is the repetition of the vowel sound. The consonants that surround it and its position do not interfere.

Taking that definition into consideration, we may find assonance in four out of the five options given:

A. The squat pen rests; snug as a gun.

C. Bends low, comes up twenty years away - - notice that the sound / ʌ / is represented by different vowels here (o and u)

D. By God, the old man could handle a spade.

E. Nicking and slicing neatly, heaving sods - - notice that we have long and short i's in this case; the - ing's have a short i sound / ɪ /, while the - ea-'s have a long i sound / i: /.