An alliteration always has a nice aesthetic in academic writing. Not only will it make your text more memorable, it also shows a profound understanding of language and grammar. Alliterations are probably the most used stylistic device in literature, yet there may be some pieces of information you did not know about it. The following article will do a deep dive into this device, its use, types and various examples.
Alliteration in a nutshell
An alliteration is a stylistic device where two or more words in a row start with the same letter or sound.
Definition: Alliteration
Alliteration is a rhetoric device characterized by subsequent words starting with the same letter. Technically, you need only two words as a minimum with the same starter, but three or more are recommended. Furthermore, the words do not need to follow each other directly, as long as the connection is perceptible, as the following examples show.
Examples
- Lily likes to lie on the lawn.
- Anton always asks for answers.
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Use and purpose
Since alliteration is such a simple but impactful device, it is widely used in all kinds of written or spoken texts. It creates a rhythm and is easy to remember, so it finds application in speeches, poetry, and music as well as advertisement. Furthermore, it highlights the words included, emphasizing them.
However, due to its simple and frequent usage, an alliteration often cannot be interpreted on a deeper level in a literary analysis. It can rather be considered a supporting device, attracting the reader’s attention to what is actually important. It should still be noted that this is a general description and there might be cases where the stylistic device is, for example, meant to reflect a character’s repetitive thoughts, or it connects to a hyperbole, strengthening the increase. Or they simply use the repeated sound to mimic a noise they are describing.
Examples
- Again, an ant, it’s always an ant, of all things.
- Elevate your writing, make an egregiously exceptional essay and impress everyone.
- The tremendous thunderstorm taps against the tall building, tattering the trespassers’ clothes.
Another point to be wary about when you find an alliteration in a text is to think if it is really intentional. The chance of pairing two words with the same starting letter is actually pretty high, as these sentences show perfectly. If there are more than two words, it is more likely that the word choice is intended. Another indicator could be the use of unusual or uncommon words, indicating that the author chose their wording precisely for this purpose.
Types
An alliteration can take many shapes, and what plenty of people do not know is that it is actually about the initial sounds, not just letters. So, let’s dive into the various types of this stylistic device.
- Same letter: The most common way to form an alliteration is, of course, to use words starting with the same letter. In written forms like literature, this works pretty well, but you need to watch out for mistakes in spoken texts.
Examples
- Seven smurfs sing songs somewhere.
- Our octopus opened the door.
- Same sound: Just as well, an alliteration can consist of words starting with the same distinct sound, even though it is a different letter. This, however, works best in spoken language, of course.
Examples
- The kind cook plays with cool kids.
- Our ancestors always valued this family.
- Symmetrical: There can also be a symmetrical alliteration of one letter enclosing the other one, as the following examples show.
Examples
- Tomorrow we want tortellini.
- Nina told Tamara nothing.
- Stressed syllables: This is an exception to the rule that the sound needs to be repeated at the beginning of the word and does only happen, when there is an unstressed syllable before the letter. This is most likely the case, when there is a negating or improving prefix at the beginning.
Examples
- Sally sits beside Sam.
- Vivienne writes a review from her adventure.
- Unvoiced: An unvoiced alliteration does actually not count as a stylistic device, as it loses the sound due to the pronunciation of the words.
Examples
- He kept the knife.
- Midnight is the haunted hour.
Similar stylistic devices
Assonance/consonance
Since all three of them rely on sounds, they can be easily mistaken. An alliteration, however, needs to have a repetition of sounds at the beginning of the words, while in an assonance as well as consonance, the sound can be anywhere. The difference between assonance and consonance is merely that the former uses vowel sounds and the latter consonant sounds.
Examples
- Alliteration: “Best believe I’m still bejeweled” — Bejeweled by Taylor Swift
- Assonance: “Girl, I need you right by my side” — Lose my breath by Stray Kids
- Consonance: “To all of the queens who are fighting alone/Baby, you’re not dancing on your own” — Kings and Queens by Ava Max
Anaphora
An anaphora, on the other hand, repeats the entire word and not just a sound, and the repetition is also mostly placed at the beginning of the sentences.
Examples
- Alliteration: It is incredibly cold.
- Anaphora: It is cold. It is very, very cold.
Examples
Alliterations are used in many different types of texts, especially in the creative type. The following examples will show you various writing using this stylistic device.
Examples
- “…in the cheer and comfort of our eye,/Our chiefest courtier, cousin, and our son” — Hamlet by Shakespeare
- “So we beat on, boats against the current,borne back ceaselessly into the past.” — The Great Gatsby by F.Fitzgerald
Examples
- “While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,…” — The Raven by E.A. Poe
- “When to the sessions of sweet silent thought” — Sonnet 30 by Shakespeare
Examples
- “But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
- “…and treating others the way you would want to be treated, with kindness, respect, and compassion.” — Kamala Harris
Examples
- “Whisper words of wisdom, let it be” — Let it Be by The Beatles
- “Hear her voice, shake my window/Sweet seducing sighs” — Human nature by M. Jackson
Examples
- Dunkin’ Doughnuts
- Coca-Cola
- KitKat
- Bigmac. Big. Beefy. Bliss. (McDonald’s)
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FAQs
A simple definition is that there are two or more subsequent words starting with the same letter or sound. Sometimes minor words such as “in,” “of,” “and,” or similar ones can be placed in between without interrupting the alliteration.
Well-known examples can always be found in tongue twisters, for example:
- “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.”
- “She sells seashells by the seashore.”
- “Betty Batter bought some butter, but, she said, the butter’s bitter.”
Plainly said, the difference is that with an alliteration, the repeated sound or letter needs to stand at the beginning of words, while in an assonance, it does not matter where the repeated sound is located.
Identifying an alliteration sounds simple at first, knowing that you need a minimum of two words starting with the same letter or sound. However, things like this can also happen unintentionally pretty quick. A more precise way to find this stylistic device is on the one hand, looking for more than two words. On the other hand, an uncommon choice of words can also indicate that the author put thought into their wording and the alliteration might be intentional.
