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Learn how alliteration enhances the sound, tone, and meaning of poetry with these examples from famous poets. See how they use repeated consonant sounds to create rhythm, imagery, and effect in their poems.
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Alliteration is arguably the king of the sound-effects in poetry. It’s defined by the OED as ‘the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words, especially when employed for stylistic effect’.
Alliteration is especially popular in poetry, which is distinct in its emphasis on sound and rhythm. For example, take a look at the astonishing amount of alliteration in the final stanza of Edgar Allen Poe’s most famous poem, “ The Raven ”:
Alliteration, consonance, and assonance are all literary devices that are utilized as a means of creating emphasis, attention, significance, and importance to words in poetry, prose, or speech. These literary devices can be used for both artistic and rhetorical effects.
16 sie 2021 · Sometimes called initial rhyme or head rhyme, alliteration is one poetic device that’s unmissable in our everyday world. Poets, advertisers and headline writers all regularly take this approach of repeating initial letter sounds to grab people’s attention.
Alliteration is most common in poems, though it can be found in prose and drama as well. It is often used in the real world in things like nursery rhymes, famous speeches, and advertising slogans. Note that alliteration is dependent on the beginning sound and not the beginning letter.
Alliteration is a technique that makes use of repeated sound at the beginning of multiple words, grouped together. It is used in poetry and prose. E.g. The sentence "Sally's slippery snake slithered slowly down the stairs" is a great example of alliteration.
