Alliteration

Figures of speech are literary devices which are used to convey ideas that go beyond their literal meaning.

In English, there are more than 200 different types of figures of speech. Alliteration is one of them.

Alliteration Meaning

Alliteration is the repetition of sounds of words which are in a sequence or which are close to each other. It is the repetition of the sound of the consonants in the words. It makes the lines sound lyrical and rhythmic. Alliteration also renders a pleasing flow to the verses.

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Susie suddenly sounds serious on the phone. (The consonant sound ‘s‘ is repeated for a pleasing effect.)
Pitter patter of petite feet (The consonant sound ‘p‘ is repeated for a pleasing effect.)

Alliteration Examples

Following are the popular examples of Alliteration

“When to the sessions of sweet silent thought”
—Shakespeare, Sonnet 30

“Once upon a midnight dreary while I pondered weak and weary”
—Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven

“When loosed and missioned, making wings of winds”
—P. B. Shelly, The Witch of Atlas

“The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew,
The furrow followed free;
We were the first that ever burst
Into that silent sea.”
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner