Alliteration

• Alliteration The repetition of words that start with the same consonant sound

The word does not have to start with the same letter, but must form the same sound

Example

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,

A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked;

If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,

Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked

Alliteration in Life

• Alliteration in Life • Commonly used in newspaper headlines, advertisements, political speeches and persuasion

“Your flexible friend.”

“A little dab'll do ya.”

“Cats like Felix like Felix.”

"Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is."

"Put a tiger in your tank."

"My goodness, my Guinness!"

"Happiness is a cigar called Hamlet."

Where is the Alliteration?Where is the Alliteration?

• "Isn't that what being an international man of mystery is all about?"-- delivered by Mike Myers (from the movie Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery)

FFamous Example FFrom FFilm

• "Isn't that what being an international man of mystery is all about?"-- delivered by Mike Myers (from the movie Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery)

Where is the Alliteration?Where is the Alliteration?

Newspaper Headline and Alliteration

Effect of Alliteration• Effect of Alliteration • Makes words or

phrases more memorable.

• It can make you more amusing, although if abused can cause the loss of ethos

"Somewhere at this very moment a child is being born in America. Let it be our cause to give that child a happy home, a healthy family, and a hopeful future."-

Bill Clinton, 1992 Democratic National Convention Acceptance Address

Where is the Alliteration?Where is the Alliteration?

• "This generation of soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen have volunteered in the time of certain danger. They are part of the finest fighting force that the world has ever known. They have served tour after tour of duty in distant, different, and difficult places...They are men and women -- white, black, and brown -- of all faiths and all stations -- all Americans, serving together to protect our people, while giving others half a world away the chance to lead a better life....In today’s wars, there's not always a simple ceremony that signals our troops’ success -- no surrender papers to be signed, or capital to be claimed...." – Barack Obama, Fort Hood Memorial Service Speech

Other Examples

• "This generation of soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen have volunteered in the time of certain danger. They are part of the finest fighting force that the world has ever known. They have served tour after tour of duty in distant, different, and difficult places...They are men and women -- white, black, and brown -- of all faiths and all stations -- all Americans, serving together to protect our people, while giving others half a world away the chance to lead a better life....In today’s wars, there's not always a simple ceremony that signals our troops’ success -- no surrender papers to be signed, or capital to be claimed...." – Barack Obama, Fort Hood Memorial Service Speech

Where is the Alliteration?Where is the Alliteration?

Other Examples

Uses of Alliteration• Usage of Alliteration • A writer must strike a

balance between playfulness and seeming too clever

• Alliteration should be used for powerful emphasis of the most important points.

Alter Egos: Say these heroes real names in your head. You might hear a little alliteration wringing in your ears.

Where is the Alliteration?Where is the Alliteration?

• "We can no longer afford to traffic in lies or fear or hate. It is the poison that we must purge from our politics, the wall that we must tear down before the hour grows too late. But if changing our hearts and our minds is the first critical step, we cannot stop there. It’s not enough to bemoan the plight of the poor in this country and remain unwilling to push our elected officials to provide the resources to fix our schools.“– Barack Obama, Address at Ebenezer Baptist Church

Other Examples

• "We can no longer afford to traffic in lies or fear or hate. It is the poison that we must purge from our politics, the wall that we must tear down before the hour grows too late. But if changing our hearts and our minds is the first critical step, we cannot stop there. It’s not enough to bemoan the plight of the poor in this country and remain unwilling to push our elected officials to provide the resources to fix our schools.“– Barack Obama, Address at Ebenezer Baptist Church

Where is the Alliteration?Where is the Alliteration?

• "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

Other Examples

• "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

Other Examples: Which Teams Use Alliteration in Their Team’s Title?

Answers:Answers: How Many Did You Get Right?

• NFL: Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars, Seattle Seahawks, Tennessee Titans

• NBA: San Antonio Spurs, Cleveland Cavaliers, Seattle Super Sonics, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers,

"Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is it vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished, as the once vital voice of the verisimilitude now venerates what they once vilified. However, this valorous visitation of a bygone vexation stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose vis-à-vis an introduction, and so it is my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V."

Your Turn: Use the letter to make three word alliteration phrases

Example: S Slimy Slithering Snakes

• B __________ __________ __________

• T __________ __________ __________

• M __________ __________ _________

Your Turn: Use these prompts to make longer phrases

(little words like “a” “of” and “the” are okay to use)

• Sullen Sally_________________________________

• Henry hold___________________________________

• Peter put____________________________________

What is Assonance

• Assonance • The counterpart of alliteration, assonance is the pairing of vowel sounds

• Usually the affect of assonance is more subtle than alliteration

on a proud round cloud in white high night— e.e. cummings, if a Cheer Rules Elephant Angel Child Should Sit

Where is the Assonance?Where is the Assonance?

• "As I was going to St. Ives, I met a man with seven wives, Every wife had seven sacks, every sack had seven cats, Every cat had seven kittens: kittens, cats, sacks and wives, How many were going to St. Ives?“

-- delivered by Jeremy Irons, from the movie Die Hard with a Vengeance (as taken from the riddle poem "As I was going to St. Ives")

Assonance Example

• "As I was going to St. Ives, I met a man with seven wives, Every wife had seven sacks, every sack had seven cats, Every cat had seven kittens: kittens, cats, sacks and wives, How many were going to St. Ives?“

-- delivered by Jeremy Irons, from the movie Die Hard with a Vengeance (as taken from the riddle poem "As I was going to St. Ives")

Where is the Assonance?Where is the Assonance?

• "The gloves didn't fit. If it doesn't fit, you must acquit."-- Johnny Cochran, Closing Arguments from the O.J. Simpson Trial

Assonance Example

• "The gloves didn't fit. If it doesn't fit, you must acquit."-- Johnny Cochran, Closing Arguments from the O.J. Simpson Trial

Where is the Assonance?Where is the Assonance?

• "I feel the need, the need for speed."-- delivered by Tom Cruise and Anthony Edwards (from the movie Top Gun)

Assonance Example

• "I feel the need, the need for speed."-- delivered by Tom Cruise and Anthony Edwards (from the movie Top Gun)

Consonance

• Consonance • Repetition of the same consonant two or more times in short succession

• Examples:– "pitter patter“– "all mammals named

Sam are clammy".

Consonance vs. Alliteration

• Consonance vs. Alliteration

• Alliteration is an extension of consonance, but it is only repetition of consonants at ________________ of words.

Alliteration, Assonance, Consonance

• Can you spot the alliteration, consonance and assonance in the example below taken from “The Raven”?

from Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven: "And the silken sad uncertain rustling of

each purple curtain."

from Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven:

"And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain."

• Alliteration is the repetition of the s sound at the start of "silken" and "sad."

from Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven:

"And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain."

• Assonance is the repetition of the ur sound in "purple" and "curtain."

from Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven:

"And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain."

• Consonance is the repetition of the s sound within "uncertain" and "rustling."