Have you ever read a poem in which the 's' sound was repeated? Did you appreciate its musical quality? Sibilance is a term that describes the effect created by the sound 's' repeatedly used in quick succession, often in poetry. Poets can employ sibilance to enhance the meaning of their work.
For example, if a poem was about a snake, the plethora of 's' sounds could help mimic the hissing sound a snake makes.
Sibilance meaning
'Sibilance' derives from 'sibilant' which is a sharp sound with a higher pitch. To make sibilant sounds, the speaker directs a stream of air with their tongue towards their teeth, stressing the 's' sound.
Sibilance occurs when the consonant 's' sound is stressed, commonly in 'sh', 'z', and 's'.
An example of a sibilant sound is the 'sh' sound in leisure and pleasure. The 'sh' sound in words 'shop' and 'shoot' is in 'leisure' and 'pleasure', despite the fact they do not contain 'sh'. This is due to the sibilant 's' sound in the words changing the pronunciation of 's' to sound more like 'sh', stressing the 's' sound in the word.
Top tip: Say leisure and pleasure out loud and note the stream of air from your tongue to your teeth. That's what makes these words sibilant! Can you think of any other examples of sibilant words?
Sibilance examples
Here are a few examples of sibilant words:
essence
strange
zip
scent
drowsy
ship
All of these words are examples of sibilant words because they contain sibilant sounds, 's', 'z', and 'sh', in which the 's' sound is stressed. When these sounds are used in close succession, this is classed as sibilance.
The slimy, scaly, snake slithered through the wet grass, sliding through the door and into the kitchen.
The plethora of 's' sounds in the above quote mimics the traditional connotations of a snake: the hissing 'sss' sound it makes and the image of it slinking through the grass. The use of sibilance reinforces the meaning of the sentence.
When multiple sibilant sounds are used in succession it can emulate what the text is about. This is a simple example in which the ‘s’ sounds mimic the slithering imagery of a snake and allude to the hissing sound a snake makes. It's not all about snakes. The effects of sibilance are usually more complex when used in poetry.
Effect of sibilance
Sibilance has a variety of effects on writing which is why many writers use sibilant words in their work.
Maintaining / establishing a rhythm - the same sound used in quick succession can create a musical rhythmic effect on the text.
Smoothing the flow of the text - all words containing the sound 's' sound similar and this smooths transitions between words.
Drawing attention to a specific part of the poem - a particular section of the poem can be emphasises when the same sibilant sound is repeated.
To relay a hidden meaning or message in the text - when sibilance draws the attention of the reader to a particular section of the poem, the reader is able to notice the meaning of the text.
Sibilance in poetry
Let's explore the effect sibilance has on some well-known poems.
'Meeting Point' (1940) by Louis MacNeice
This is a poem about a couple who feel like time has stopped around them. They are so in love they feel they are the only two people in the world and their surroundings are insignificant.
Time was away and somewhere else,
There were two glasses and two chairs
And two people with the one pulse
(Somebody stopped the moving stairs):
Time was away and somewhere else
Here, the sibilance points to the underlying meaning of the poem. The succession of 's' sounds resembles the soft sound of sand slipping through an hourglass timer, reminding readers that time continues and nothing can stop it, even love. MacNeice suggests that love can silence everything around us; we forget time is passing as we are trapped in the present moment. The fact that MacNeice's use of sibilance subtly posits the idea of time progressing mirrors the way time passing and life existing outside of their relationship has similarly been pushed into the background of the lover's minds, as it has in the poem.
The sibilance is segregated from the rest of the poem by the use of brackets, much like the couple have distanced themselves from the outside world.
'A Quoi Bon Dire' (1916) By Charlotte Mew
Mew's poem is about a woman reminiscing about her late partner. She is still adamant she can feel their presence around her even though they are dead. The French title translates to 'what's the point in saying?' as now the speaker is alone in the world it seems she has little reason to speak.
Seventeen years ago you said
Something that sounded like Good-bye;
And everybody thinks that you are dead,
But I.
The sibilance mimics a hissing sound which could be interpreted as the speaker's former lover, a sound that is audible only to the speaker. The sibilance is almost like a secret code representing that the narrator can feel her late lover's presence.
The title 'what's the point in saying?' suggests that the pair do not use speech to communicate anymore; they have their own method of communication that goes beyond standard verbal communication, their own language that transcends the bounds of reality.
'Ode To Autumn' (1820) by John Keats
The poem begins with a sibilance. The soft 's' sound in 'sun' and 'mist' shows the way in which Keats viewed autumn as a beautiful season.
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom friend of the maturing sun
Top tip: Read these two lines aloud and you will notice how the 's' sound dominates the lines, establishing a soft rhythm that continues throughout the poem.
The lines that follow also contain sibilance and it becomes a vital part of the rhythm of the poem, as Keats continues to associate autumn with soft natural imagery.
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees
The lines quoted above are similarly littered with 's' sounds maintaining the rhythm of the poem established in the first two lines. The sibilance reinforces Keats' depiction of autumn as a soft and gentle season, associated with beautiful and natural imagery.
'Lullaby' (1960) by Anne Sexton
Sexton's use of sibilance draws attention to the thick and sticky heat of summer.
It is a summer evening.
The yellow moths say
against the locked screens
and the faded curtains
suck over the window sills
and from another building
a goat calls in his dreams
The collection of 's' sounds emphasise the evening sun, presenting it as a tangible presence, embodied by the yellow moths hitting the window sills. By drawing attention to the window we can imagine the feeling of hot glass as the sun beats down on the window for an extended period of time.
As this poem depicts a nurse returning to a mentally ill patient to give them sleeping pills, the drowsiness associated with sleeping is emulated in the sibilance. The repetition of 's' sounds gives the poem the quality of a lullaby.
Sibilance - key takeaways
- Sibilance is a term that describes the effect created by the 's' sound repeatedly used in quick succession, often in poetry.
- Sibilance occurs when the consonant 's' sound is stressed, commonly in 'sh', 'z', and 's'. To make sibilant sounds, the speaker directs a stream of air with their tongue towards their teeth, stressing the 's' sound.
- Sibilance is a technique authors deliberately use to enrich their writing and make it sound more poetic.
- 'Essence', 'strange' and 'zip' are examples of sibilant words.
- The effects of sibilance include: maintaining/establishing a rhythm, smoothing the flow of the text, drawing attention to a specific part of the poem, relaying a hidden meaning or message in the text.
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