What is Onomatopoeia?

Find out what onomatopoeia is, how writers use onomatopoeia in literature and how you can analyse this figure of speech in any English exam, whether you’re studying poetry as part of AQA GCSE English Literature, or preparing for IGCSE, A Level or IB exams. You’ll find examples of onomatopoeia from literature, alongside our expert analysis, so you can understand how to write about onomatopoeia in your exam.

Nick Redgrove

English Senior Content Creator

Published

13 August 2024

Read time

6 minutes

Contents

What is onomatopoeia?

Onomatopoeia is when a word imitates the sound of the thing it names or describes. It is a figurative language technique often used in poetry and literature to add emphasis, a sense of realism or to create a sensory effect for the reader, usually by creating vivid imagery.

It can be a bit simplistic if used only to mimic animal sounds like “oink” and “woof” or create sound effects like “crackle”, “plop” or “sizzle”. However, using onomatopoeia can help to create subtle and immersive descriptions. For example:

"The tick tock of the grandfather clock was an ominous reminder of time passing."

Here, the writer uses onomatopoeia in the words “tick tock” to imitate the sound the second hand of the grandfather clock makes and to add figurative meaning to the sound: the ticking of the clock represents the potentially worrying feeling of time running out.

Etymology of the word onomatopoeia

The word onomatopoeia comes from the Greek words ὄνομα (ónoma, “name”) and ποιέω (poiéō, “to make”). So, onomatopoeia literally means "name-making”, which makes sense because it gives us words for sounds.

Why do writers use onomatopoeia?

Onomatopoeia is a figurative language device, so it is used to convey additional meaning, or subtext, for certain words or phrases. This subtextual meaning — or connotation — is what you need to try to identify when you analyse onomatopoeia, because it conveys the writer’s intended effect.

Understanding this deeper layer of meaning will help you to get you top marks in your exams. For example, let’s consider this quotation, from William Shakespeare’s Macbeth:

"Here's a knocking indeed! If a man were porter of Hell Gate, he should have old turning the key.
Knock, knock, knock! Who's there, i' th’name of Belzebub?" — Porter, Act 2, Scene 3

In these lines, Shakespeare uses onomatopoeia in his choice of the words, “Knock, knock, knock!” The literal sense of this quotation is that the drunken porter hears a knocking on the gate of Macbeth’s castle. However, the use of onomatopoeia allows Shakespeare to continue using an ominous sound-related motif he introduced in the previous scene. In Act 2, Scene 2, Macbeth thinks he hears a persistent knocking, just like the porter does here. In both cases, the knocking doesn’t just represent a literal sound, but also the eternal consequences of Macbeth’s evil actions. Shakespeare’s repeated use of the sound is a constant reminder that Macbeth may have to enter the “Hell Gate” for what he has done.

Types of onomatopoeia

Type of onomatopoeia

Definition

Example

Direct onomatopoeia

When the words used are also sounds

“And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!“

— ‘Jabberwocky’ by Lewis Carroll

The invented onomatopoeic words “whiffing” and “burbled” describe the terrifying sound of a creature called the Jabberwock.

Indirect onomatopoeia

This is when an onomatopoeic effect is created without using onomatopoeic words, for example when alliteration (repetition of vowel sounds or consonant sounds across multiple words) creates the sound of the thing being described

“Furrow followed free”

— ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

The alliterative “f” sounds create the calming effect of ripples being created by a boat.

Being able to spot examples of onomatopoeia, and identify their effect on the reader, is always helpful when analysing a text.

Examples of onomatopoeia and its effect on a reader

When you are analysing any language technique, including onomatopoeia, it is important to comment on the effect the writer is trying to create. Here are some examples to help you:

Onomatopoeia example

Analysis

“The cellar-door flew open with a booming sound, and then he heard the noise much louder, on the floors below; then coming up the stairs; then coming straight towards his door”

— A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Dickens introduces the reader to the ghost of Jacob Marley, not with a physical description, but rather with an onomatopoeic “booming” sound. This creates a sense of tension and suspense that builds as the sound gradually travels throughout Scrooge’s house. Dickens uses a disembodied sound to add a sense of mystery and even horror, reflecting Scrooge’s later terror, which is typical of the conventions of a Gothic ghost story.

“Then the sleeping leviathan breathed out — the waters rose, the weed streamed, and the water boiled over the table rock with a roar”

— Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Golding uses the onomatopoeic “roar” of the ocean to highlight the sea’s ferocity and danger, as a reminder of the threat the natural world poses to the boys at all times. As Ralph experiences this sight, he acknowledges the real dangers of their predicament (and not the imagined dangers of a fantastical “beast”), and the reader understands that he is one of the only boys to have the maturity and judgement to understand that they must escape the island.

For a comprehensive glossary covering all the best literary terms you could ever need (including assonance, foreshadowing, juxtaposition, hyperbole, metaphor, personification, rhetorical questions, sibilance, simile and more than a hundred more), check out our list of Top literary devices, complete with student-friendly definitions and examples.

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Written by Nick Redgrove

English Senior Content Creator 14 articles

Nick is a graduate of the University of Cambridge and King’s College London. He started his career in journalism and publishing, working as an editor on a political magazine and a number of books, before training as an English teacher. After nearly 10 years working in London schools, where he held leadership positions in English departments and within a Sixth Form, he moved on to become an examiner and education consultant. With more than a decade of experience as a tutor, Nick specialises in English, but has also taught Politics, Classical Civilisation and Religious Studies.

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