What is onomatopoeia?
Do you ever wonder why children and adults can be entertained with comic books?
In addition to the condensed story, it’s the words on the page that delight and entertain.
In a fight scene in a Batman Comic, you will see one word in colorful brackets.
These words, POW, BAM, BONK and others are words mimic the sound of the action it refers to.
What is Onomatopoeia?
Onomatopoeia is a word that mimics the sound of the object or action it refers to.
When you pronounce a word, it will mimic its sound – bark, chirp, purr, for example.
Found most often in children’s writing, poetry and comic books, onomatopoeia delights children and entertains them.
It even entertains legions of adults.
The word “onomatopoeia” comes from the combination of two Greek words, one meaning “name” and the other meaning “I make”, so onomatopoeia literally means “the name (or sound) I make.”
The word is a sound effect.
However, many onomatopoeic words have come to mean other things related to the sounds they make.
Slap, for instance, not only means the sound that is made by skin hitting skin, but also the action of hitting someone (usually on the face) with an open hand.
Rustle is the sound of papers brushing together, but it also indicates the action of someone moving papers around and causing them to brush together, thus making this noise.
The pronunciation of words like hum, buzz, clang, boom, hiss, crack and twitter suggest their meaning.
The value of onomatopoeia is as a poetic device.
It becomes evident when the sound echoes throughout the entire phrase or line.
The words paint a picture using little description.
The murmurous haunt of flies on summer eves.
(You can hear the flies and see them as the sun fades into darkness)
The silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain.
(You can see and hear the curtains moving against the wind blowing in through the window)
“Tis the night of doom,” say the ding-dong doom-bells.
(You can envision a dark and gloomy night, and the bells ringing, a foreshadowing of what it to come)
A murmuring of innumerable bees
(You can hear the bees around the hives)
Pop, plop, plunk, pow
Clink, clank, clunk, clatter
Whack, whir, wheeze, whine
Onomatopoeia is something to have fun with and fits into almost any type of writing.
How word choice is important. Click Here.
About Rebecca Camarena
Rebecca Camarena is a book writing coach and an author.
Great article and explanation of this poetic device. I enjoyed your descriptive sound words. Good job.