Poets adore alliteration, the repetition of consonant sounds in adjacent, nearby or connected words.
See how Carolina Ebeid grabs the reader’s attention by repeating the “b” sound in the first few lines of the poem “Albeit”:
Because I have wanted
to make you somethingbeautiful, I borrowed
a book on how to keepa bee-hive made of glass.
And how Jane Wong emphasizes her conclusion with the repetition of the “w” sound in “Lessons on Lessening”:
I must return to my younger self. To wearing my life
like heavy wool, weaved in my own weight.
Kamilah Aisha Moon’s “Cataracts” contains many examples of alliteration. The poem begins:
When life scuffs & finally scars the eyes
they become turtles — withdraw inside themselves,dive inside private marshes, dragging under
the once-girl they belong to, the dewy woman
(Notice in the second stanza how even though “dive,” “dragging” and “dewy” all start with “d,” only “dive” and “dewy” are considered alliterative. Why? Because alliteration is all about sound, and the “dr” in “dragging” makes a different sound than the “d” in “dive” and “dewy.”)
Students, read the rest of Moon’s poem. How many more instances of alliteration can you find?
Going Further
Where do you see alliteration in your everyday life? Try to collect at least two examples from any kind of written or spoken text. Here are some places you might look:
Then, consider the following questions:
Finally, you might try your hand at alliteration. Write a poem, lyrics to a song or a short passage that repeats the beginning sound of a word. What is it like to use this literary device? What does it add to your piece?