Cacophony and Euphony

Cacophony or euphony may be used to describe short poems that utilze either or both of these two writing devices. The main contribution to poetry of these two principles, however, is in their limited use within longer poems to effect and connection between ideas. 

Cacophony refers to the use of harsh sounds, and may utilize alliteration or onomatopoeia to help reinforce a point. There are many ways to create cacophony, but the basic principle is the placement of words in an order keeps the words from bleeding together vocally. Words that end in hard consonants followed by words that begin with hard consonants form an example of how this might be accomplished, as there is a hard stop created between the words. Walt Whitman's poem, Beat! Beat! Drums!, is an excellent example of cacophony's being used to effect. 

Euphony is the opposite of cacophony.  Instead of creating jarring imagery, euphony attempts to create smooth flowing sounds between words and phrases. The easiest way to accomplish this is with repeated vowel sounds and the use of the liquid consonants l and r. An example of euphony in action can be found in Tennyson's, The Lotos-Eaters...particularly part viii.