Alliteration - wikipedia Alliteration Manners of articulation Obstruent Stop Affricate Fricative Strident Sibilant Sonorant Nasal Approximant Semivowel Vowel Vibrant Flap / Tap Trill Liquid Rhotic Lateral Occlusive Continuant Airstreams Egressive Ingressive Ejective Implosive Nonexplosive Lingual ( clicks ) Linguo - pulmonic Linguo - ejective Percussive See also Articulatory phonetics Aspirated consonant No audible release Phonation Place of articulation Voice Voicelessness hide This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. ( Learn how and when to remove these template messages ) This article needs attention from an expert on the subject. Please add a reason or a talk parameter to this template to explain the issue with the article. When placing this tag, consider associating this request with a WikiProject. ( December 2017 ) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( December 2017 ) Alliteration is a figure of speech and a stylistic literary device which is identified by the repeated sound of the first or second letter in a series of words, or the repetition of the same letter sounds in stressed syllables of a phrase. `` Alliteration '' is from the Latin word littera, meaning `` letter of the alphabet '' ; it was first coined in a Latin dialogue by the Italian humanist Giovanni Pontano in the 15th century. Alliteration narrowly refers to the repetition of a letter in any syllables that, according to the poem 's meter, are stressed, as in James Thomson 's verse `` Come... dragging the lazy languid Line along ''. Another example is `` Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers ''. Consonance is a broader literary device identified by the repetition of consonant sounds at any point in a word ( e.g. coming home, hot foot ). Alliteration is a special case of consonance where the repeated consonant sound is in the stressed syllable. Alliteration may also refer to the use of different but similar consonants, such as alliterating z with s, as does the author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, or as Anglo - Saxon ( Old English ) poets would alliterate hard / fricative g with soft g ( the latter exemplified in some courses as the letter yogh -- ȝ -- pronounced like the y in yarrow or the j in Jotunheim ). There is one specialised form of alliteration called Symmetrical Alliteration. That is, alliteration containing parallelism, or chiasmus. In this case, the phrase must have a pair of outside end words both starting with the same sound, and pairs of outside words also starting with matching sounds as one moves progressively closer to the centre. For example, `` rust brown blazers rule '' or `` fluoro colour co-ordination forever ''. Symmetrical alliteration is similar to palindromes in its use of symmetry. Contents 1 Literature 1.1 Rhyme 1.2 Historical use 1.3 Poetry 2 Rhetoric 3 Pop culture 4 See also 5 References 6 External links Literature Gilbert and Sullivan 's comic opera The Mikado is the source of a well - known example of alliterative lyrics : `` To sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock, In a pestilential prison, with a lifelong lock, Awaiting the sensation of a short, sharp shock, From a cheap and chippy chopper on a big black block ! '' The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe has many examples of alliteration including the following line : `` And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain ''. Samuel Taylor Coleridge 's Rime of the Ancient Mariner has the following lines of alliteration : `` For the sky and the sea, and the sea and the sky. '' and `` the furrow followed free... '' Robert Frost 's poem Acquainted with the Night has the following line of alliteration : `` I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet ''. In Walter Abish 's novel Alphabetical Africa ( 1974 ) the first chapter consists solely of words beginning with `` A ''. Chapter two also permits words beginning with `` B '', and so on, until in chapter 26, Abish allows himself to use words beginning with any letter at all. In the next 25 chapters, he reverses the process. Kalevala : The Karelian - Finnish a national epoch book Kalevala written by Elias Lönnrot in the 1800s contains alliteration in the Eastern Finnish Karelian dialect, for example `` Vaka vanha Väinämöinen '', `` Steady old Wainamoinen ''. Rhyme In `` Thank - You for the Thistle '' by Dorie Thurston, poetically written with alliteration in a story form : `` Great Aunt Nellie and Brent Bernard who watch with wild wonder at the wide window as the beautiful birds begin to bite into the bountiful birdseed ''. In the nursery rhyme Three Grey Geese by Mother Goose, alliteration can be found in the following lines : `` Three grey geese in a green field grazing. Grey were the geese and green was the grazing. '' The tongue - twister rhyme Betty Botter by Carolyn Wells is an example of alliterative composition : `` Betty Botter bought a bit of butter, but she said, this butter 's bitter ; if I put it in my batter, it will make my batter bitter, but a bit of better butter will make my bitter batter better... '' Another commonly recited tongue - twister rhyme illustrating alliteration is Peter Piper : `` Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, where 's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked ? ''. Historical use Main articles : Alliterative verse and Alliterative Revival Alliteration is used in the alliterative verse of Old English, Old Norse, Old High German, Old Saxon, and Old Irish. It was an important ingredient of the Sanskrit shlokas. Alliteration was used in Old English given names. This is evidenced by the unbroken series of 9th century kings of Wessex named Æthelwulf, Æthelbald, Æthelberht, and Æthelred. These were followed in the 10th century by their direct descendants Æthelstan and Æthelred II, who ruled as kings of England. The Anglo - Saxon saints Tancred, Torhtred and Tova provide a similar example, among siblings. Poetry This Section possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. ( October 2013 ) In relation to English poetry, poets can call attention to certain words in a line of poetry by using alliteration. They can also use alliteration to create a pleasant, rhythmic effect. In the following poetic lines, notice how alliteration is used to emphasize words and to create rhythm : `` Give me the splendid silent sun with all his beams full - dazzling ! ' Walt Whitman, `` Give Me the Splendid Silent Sun '' `` They all gazed and gazed upon this green stranger, / because everyone wondered what it could mean / that a rider and his horse could be such a colour - / green as grass, and greener it seemed / than green enamel glowing bright against gold ''. ( 232 - 236 ) Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, translated by Bernard O'Donoghue ( In the original, and in J.R.R. Tolkien 's translation, this poem in fact follows an alliterative meter. ) Alliteration is found in the poems of S.T. Coleridge. There are many examples of alliteration in ' The Rime of Ancient Mariner '. `` Some papers like writers, some like wrappers. Are you a writer or a wrapper ? '' Carl Sandburg, `` Paper I '' Alliteration can also add to the mood of a poem. If a poet repeats soft, melodious sounds, a calm or dignified mood can result. If harsh, hard sound are repeated, on the other hand, the mood can become tense or excited. In this poem, alliteration of the s, l, and f sounds adds to a hushed, peaceful mood : `` Softer be they than slippered sleep the lean lithe deer the fleet flown deer. '' -- E.E. Cummings, `` All in green went my love riding '' Rhetoric Alliteration has been used in various spheres of public speaking and rhetoric. Alliteration can also be considered an artistic constraint that is used by the orator to sway the audience to feel some type of urgency, or perhaps even lack of urgency, or another emotional effect. For example, H or E sounds can soothe, whereas a P or a B sound can be percussive and attention - grabbing. S sounds can imply danger or make the audience feel as if they are being deceived. Other sounds can create feelings of happiness, discord, or anger, depending on context. Alliteration serves to `` intensify any attitude being signified ''. Its significance as a rhetorical device is that it adds a textural complexity to a speech, making it more engaging, moving, and memorable. The use of alliteration in a speech captivates a person 's auditory senses ; this helps the speaker to create a mood. The use of a repeating sound or letter is noticeable, and so forces an audience 's attention and evokes emotion. A well - known example is in John F. Kennedy 's Inaugural Address, in which he uses alliteration 21 times. The last paragraph of his speech is given as an example here. `` Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on Earth God 's work must truly be our own. '' -- JFK Other examples of alliteration in some famous speeches : `` I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. '' -- Martin Luther King, Jr. `` We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths -- that all of us are created equal -- is the star that guides us still ; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall ; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we can not walk alone ; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth ''. -- Barack Obama. `` And our nation itself is testimony to the love our veterans have had for it and for us. All for which America stands is safe today because brave men and women have been ready to face the fire at freedom 's front. '' -- Ronald Reagan, Vietnam Veterans Memorial Address. `` Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal ''. -- Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address. `` Patent portae ; proficiscere ! '' ( `` The gates are open ; depart ! '' ) -- Cicero, In Catilinam 1.10. Pop culture Alliteration is commonly used in modern music but is also seen in magazine article titles, advertisements, business names, comic strips, television shows, video games and in the dialogue and naming of cartoon characters. See also Alliteration ( Latin ) Anadiplosis Assonance Consonance Onomatopoeia Parachesis Tautogram Tongue twister References ^ Jump up to : `` Definition of Alliteration, Literary Devices ''. Retrieved 2013 - 09 - 27. Jump up ^ W.M. Clarke, `` Intentional Alliteration in Vergil and Ovid '', Latomus, T. 35, Fasc. 2 ( April - June 1976 ), pp. 276 - 300. Jump up ^ `` Alliteration, University of Tennessee Knoxville ''. Retrieved 2013 - 09 - 10. Jump up ^ `` Definition of Alliteration, Bcs.bedfordstmartins.com ''. Retrieved 2013 - 09 - 10. Jump up ^ James Thomson. The Castle of Indolence. ISBN 0 - 19 - 812759 - 6. Jump up ^ Chris Baldick ( 2008 ). The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. Oxford University Press. p. 68. ISBN 978 - 0 - 19 - 920827 - 2. Retrieved 15 July 2016. Jump up ^ `` alliteration ''. TheFreeDictionary.com. Jump up ^ Stoll, E.E. ( May 1940 ). `` Poetic Alliteration ''. Modern Language Notes. 55 ( 5 ) : 388. Jump up ^ Paul Fussell ( 15 May 2013 ). The Great War and Modern Memory. Oxford University Press. p. 98. ISBN 978 - 0 - 19 - 997197 - 8. Retrieved 24 September 2013. Jump up ^ Wren, Gayden ( 2006 ). A Most Ingenious Paradox : The Art of Gilbert and Sullivan. Oxford University Press. p. 168. ISBN 9780195301724. Retrieved 26 October 2014. Jump up ^ The Mikado libretto, p. 16, Oliver Ditson Company Jump up ^ Langer, Kenneth, `` Some Suggestive Uses of Alliteration in Sanskrit Court Poetry '', Journal of the American Oriental Society Vol. 98, No. 4 ( Oct. -- Dec., 1978 ), pp. 438 -- 45. Jump up ^ K.N. Jha, Figurative Poetry In Sanskrit Literature, 1975, ISBN 978 - 8120826694 Jump up ^ Gelling, M., Signposts to the Past ( 2nd edition ), Phillimore, 1988, pp. 163 -- 4. Jump up ^ Old English `` Æthel '' translates to modern English `` noble ''. For further examples of alliterative Anglo - Saxon royal names, including the use of only alliterative first letters, see e.g. Yorke, B., Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo - Saxon England, Seaby, 1990, Table 13 ( p. 104 ; Mercia, names beginning with `` C '', `` M '', and `` P '' ), and pp. 142 -- 3 ( Wessex, names beginning with `` C '' ). For discussion of the origins and purposes of Anglo - Saxon `` king lists '' ( or `` regnal lists '' ), see e.g. Dumville, D.N., ' Kingship, Genealogies and Regnal Lists ', in Sawyer, P.H. & Wood, I.N. ( eds. ), Early Medieval Kingship, University of Leeds, 1977. Jump up ^ Rollason, D.W., `` Lists of Saints ' resting - places in Anglo - Saxon England '', in Anglo - Saxon England 7, 1978, p. 91. Jump up ^ Techniques Writers Use Jump up ^ Bitzer, Lloyd ( 1968 ). `` The Rhetorical Situation ''. Philosophy and Rhetoric. Jump up ^ `` Literary Devices, Author 's Craft ''. Retrieved 2014 - 09 - 26. Jump up ^ Lanham, Richard ( 1991 ). A Handlist of Rhetorical Terms. Los Angeles : University of California Press. p. 131. ISBN 978 - 0 - 520 - 27368 - 9. Jump up ^ `` Alliteration ''. Alliteration. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2013. Jump up ^ `` What made JFK 's Inaugural Address so effective ? ''. Jump up ^ `` I Have A Dream Speech Analysis Lesson Plan ''. Jump up ^ `` Obama 's Alliteration ''. Jump up ^ `` Rhetorical Figures in Sound : Alliteration ''. americanrhetoric.com. Jump up ^ Coard, Robert L. `` Wide - Ranging Alliteration. '' Peabody Journal of Education, Vol. 37, No. 1. ( July 1959 ) pp. 30 -- 32. External links A collection of Dutch alliterations and related material ( with sound files ) Examples of alliteration in poetry GND : 4120868 - 7 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alliteration&oldid=847869258 '' Categories : Poetic devices Hidden categories : Wikipedia articles needing clarification from September 2016 Articles needing expert attention with no reason or talk parameter Articles needing unspecified expert attention Articles needing expert attention from December 2017 All articles needing expert attention Articles needing additional references from December 2017 All articles needing additional references Articles with multiple maintenance issues All articles lacking reliable references Articles lacking reliable references from December 2017 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from June 2018 Articles that may contain original research from October 2013 All articles that may contain original research Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Poetry articles needing expert attention Talk Contents About Wikipedia Afrikaans Беларуская Беларуская ( тарашкевіца ) ‎ Български Català Čeština Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Eesti Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Frysk Galego 贛 語 한국어 Հայերեն हिन्दी Hrvatski Ido Bahasa Indonesia Interlingua Ирон Italiano עברית Basa Jawa ქართული Қазақша Latviešu Lietuvių Lumbaart Magyar Македонски Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk Occitan Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча ਪੰਜਾਬੀ Polski Português Română Русский Shqip Sicilianu Simple English Slovenčina Српски / srpski Basa Sunda Suomi Svenska Tagalog Татарча / tatarça Türkçe Українська 中文 52 more Edit links This page was last edited on 28 June 2018, at 10 : 11 ( UTC ). 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Question: the repetition of initial consonant sounds is the definition of which type of literary device
Answer: Alliteration