Alliteration is derived from Latin’s ‘Latira’. It means ‘letters of alphabet’. It is a stylistic (or rhetorical) device in which a number of words, having the same first consonant sound, occur close together in a series. Often alliteration involves repetition of letters. But most importantly, it is the repetition of sounds that produces a melodious effect and creates flow and beauty in the piece. This, in turn, draws more favorable attention when read or recited. In poetry and prose alliteration has a lively role that frequently spotlights style at the expense of thought. It is a useful sound device, employed by a wide range of writers, and also found in many types of literature, but mostly poetry.
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From ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
“The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew
The furrow followed free
We were the first that ever burst
Into that silent sea.”
In the above lines we see alliteration in the phrases, “breeze blew”, “foam flew”, “furrow followed”, and “silent sea”.
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In a kind of humorously prophetic way a young Robert Lewis Stevenson, in one of his early critical essays (published in 1874) upheld this view: “We must take exception,” he wrote, “to the excesses of alliteration. Alliteration is so liable to be abused that we can scarcely be too sparing of it; and yet it is a trick that grows upon a writer with years.” And so it has…
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Businesses and advertisers use alliteration to call attention to company names and products. Very often it makes each phrase more memorable. For instance: Johnson and Johnson. Dunkin’ Donuts. Krispy Kreme. Bed Bath and Beyond. Pay Pal. Life Lock. Coca Cola. American Airlines. Etc.
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Alliteration is often used in making a character’s name more animated and memorable. We see this evidenced in the famous ‘Harry Potter Series’. Salazar Slytherin. Helga Hufflepuff. Peter Pettigrew. Luna Lovegood. Dudley Dursley. Moaning Myrtle.
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We see it used, too, in many of the phrases we’ve become accustomed to our entire lives. ‘Pleased as punch’ - ‘Home sweet home’ - ‘Mad as a March hare’ - ‘Busy as a bee’ - ‘Dead as a doornail’ - ‘Method to the madness’ - ‘Out of order’ - ‘Right as rain’ - ‘Neck and neck’ - ‘A little dab’ll do ya’ (Brylcreem) - ‘Every kiss begins with Kay’ (Kay Jewelers) - ‘My goodness, my Guinness’ (Guinness beer) - ‘Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s Maybelline’ (Maybelline Makeup) The list is long.
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SOME EXAMPLES OF ALLITERATION IN POETRY
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A. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE. ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’
“Whereat with blade, with bloody blameful blade he bravely broached his bloody boiling breast.”
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B. EDGAR ALLEN POE. ‘The Raven’
“Once upon a midnight weary while I pondered weak and weary.
- And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain.
- Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, doubting; dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.”
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C. ROBERT FROST. ‘Birches’
“They click upon themselves
As the breeze rises, and turn many-colored
As the stir cracks and crazes their enamel.
Soon the sun’s warmth makes them shed crystal shells
Shattering and avalanching on the snow-crust-”
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D. MAYA ANGELOU. ‘I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings’
“Up the aisle, the moans and screams merged with the sickening smell of woolen black clothes worn in summer weather and green leaves wilting over yellow flowers.”
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Next in the series: STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS