Alliteration: Definition, Types & Examples

As a student, you must get confused between the various forms of literary devices used while writing an essay or an answer. English is a beautiful language, and there are countless literary devices used to enhance it. Alliteration is one such literary device. In this article, we will discuss the definition of alliteration, along with the various types. We provide examples so as to make the study of alliterations clearer for you. Read on to clear your concept of alliteration.

A Guide for Alliteration

DEFINITION

Alliteration is a technique in English writing, which involves the juxtaposed repetition of consonant sounds. In other words, in alliteration, the beginning sounds of words are repeated in a sentence. The repetition of sound at the beginning of these words is a literary device used to create a sound flowing effect in a sentence or a poem. Usually, it is consonants that are used for making alliteration instead of vowels. This technique can be used in case of the same phrases, clauses, sentences or even successive lines. Tongue twisters are a common and often used alliteration.

TYPES OF ALLITERATION

• GENERAL ALLITERATION

General alliteration is undoubtedly the most common form of this literary device. There is a repetition of the initial sound. For example, the girl grabbed the golden goose. You will notice that the letter ‘g’ is repeated in all these words. Therefore, general alliteration is when in a series of words, the first letter is repeated.  

• CONSONANCE

This is another form of alliteration. Consonance is tricky and is often debated upon. In this case, there is a repetition of consonants in any of the three parts of the sentence, beginning, middle or the end. For example, in the phrase ‘Pitter Patter, Pitter Patter’ there is a repetition of two letters ‘t’ and ‘r’. This style of alliteration is often implemented in poems and prose writing.

• ASSONANCE

Assonance is similar to alliteration. Many find it confusing to distinguish between the two. When the vowel sound is repeated at any point within a word, then it is known as assonance. While other types of alliteration have repeating phonetic sounds at the initial place in a word, assonance can have that repetition at any part.

• UNVOICED ALLITERATION

A feature of pronunciation is that some letters in a word are silent.  However, they become a necessary component to alliteration. They are not voiced or spoken in the form of speech. For example, in the sentence ‘Perry just poked a pink pterodactyl.’ Here while p is silent in pterodactyl, it is still counted as alliteration.

WHY IS ALLITERATION USED?

Alliteration is used in various forms of paper writing. It is preferred by essay writers and specifically by poets to bring an added effect to what they are writing. The reason why people make use of alliteration is to get the reader to focus on a certain sound. This literary device can be used just for the purpose of creating a catchy tune that sounds nice to hear or to emphasize an important point. It can impact the quality of writing and make it all the more appealing. Every essay writer must have a good understanding of alliteration, so they can incorporate it in their work and easily convey the required message to their readers.

It becomes more important for poets to make use of this technique in order to give shape to brilliant rhythmic patterns. The sounds implied while using alliterations can slow things down or even pace them up according to the suitability of the writer and the writing. Alliteration also impacts the mood and tone of the written material, be it a poem or a novel.

EXAMPLES OF ALLITERATION

1. Janie read a book by the babbling brook.
2. The child bounced the ball at a backyard barbeque.
3. The barbarians broke through the barricade.
4. He acts silly at times, but he was blessed with a brilliant brain.
5. The beautiful bouquet blossomed in the bright sun.
6. When the canary keeled over, the coal miners left the cave.
7. The captain couldn’t keep the men in the cabin.
8. Erin cooked cupcakes in the kitchen.
9. My Cadillac was completely crushed in a car crash.
10. The candy was killing my cavity.
11. Despite their mother’s warnings, the children chose to chew with their mouths open.
12. The rich man was so cheap that it was chilling.
13. The crowd cheered when the champion hit the challenger with a chair.
14. We sat around the campfire and chomped on chunks of charred chicken.
15. Change the channel.
16. They would have been on time, if they didn’t dilly-dally.
17. He dunked the delicious donut in dairy creamer.
18. There is nothing but death in the desert during the day.
19. I woke up at school in a slobbery pool; though I used to be dry, now I’m drowning in drool.
20. I dreamt of a drip-dropping drain in my dream.

Therefore, to conclude, this is a comprehensive guide on alliteration, which aims at helping you grasp the concepts as quickly and easily as possible.

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References:

https://thinkwritten.com/alliteration-examples/

https://www.papermasters.com/alliteration.html