Final answer:
The literary devices represented by similar sounds placed close together in Gwendolyn Brooks's 'We Real Cool' are assonance and consonance, which contribute to the poem's rhythm and mood.
Step-by-step explanation:
The literary device exemplified by the placement of similar sounds close together in Gwendolyn Brooks's poem We Real Cool is known as assonance and consonance. Assonance involves the repetition of vowel sounds within a word or in close proximity within a text, enhancing the musical quality of the poem. An example of assonance might be, "Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary...", as used by Edgar Allen Poe. Consonance, on the other hand, refers to the repetition of consonant sounds, typically at the end of words, as in the line "the slithering snake shakes its little rattle". Both literary devices contribute to the rhythm, mood, and overall meaning of the poem.