Consonance is the repetition of sounds produced by consonants in a word, sentence or phrase. Can normally be seen in both poetry and prose. The use of consonance gives a rhythmic effect in a poetry.
In ‘The Seven Ages of Man’, the best example of consonance is in the first line: “And all the men and women merely players”, where the repetitive ’n’ sound is consonance. Another is “mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms…”.
“For his shrunk shank…” is more of alliteration, having a repetitive ‘sh’ and 'nk' sound; a repetition of the same kinds of sound at the beginning of words. While, assonance is the repetition of the vowels in a word, sentence of phrase. like “their exits and entrances…”.
