Search results
- The repetition of initial stressed, consonant sounds in a series of words within a phrase or verse line. Alliteration need not reuse all initial consonants; “pizza” and “place” alliterate. Example: “With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim” from Gerard Manley Hopkins’s “ Pied Beauty.”
www.poetryfoundation.org › education › glossary
Below, we select and introduce ten classic poems which contain some of the best and most powerful examples of alliteration. The effects created by these alliterative lines or phrases vary from poem to poem, but those effects are all made possible, at least in part, by the poetic power of alliteration (see what we did there?).
People also ask
Why is poetry filled with alliteration?
How do you teach alliteration in poetry?
What are some examples of alliteration?
Which poem uses alliteration in word pairs?
- The Raven (by Edgar Allen Poe) ONCE upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
- Paradise Lost (by John Milton) Scarce from his mold. Behemoth, biggest born of earth, upheaved. His vastness. Milton uses alliteration throughout Paradise Lost to add to the grandiose story and sound of the text.
- Sir Galahad (by Alfred Lord Tennyson) But blessed forms in whistling storms. Fly o’er waste fens and windy fields. The “f” sounds in the second line listed here add to the onomatopoetic quality of the poem.
- Rime of the Ancient Mariner (by Samuel Taylor Coleridge) And the balls like pulses beat; For the sky and the sea, and the sea and the sky. Lay like a load on my weary eye.
Charlotte Brontë’s ‘Preference’ contains a few great examples of alliteration. In the first stanza of the poem, readers can find “pride,” “prince,” “passion,” and “perfidy” as great examples of alliteration, as well as “These, then,” and “thing” in line five of this stanza.
The following poems are a few of the best examples of alliterations. The Fire of Drift-wood by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The first slight swerving of the heart, That words are powerless to express, And leave it still unsaid in part, Or say it in too great excess. The very tones in which we spake.
Apr 18, 2024 · Older students are familiar with alliteration and are ready to find it in poetry from pop rock to Shakespeare. Use these poems and song lyrics to teach and reinforce the purpose of alliteration in poetry.
Examples of Alliteration in Literature. Example #1: American Sonnet by Billy Collins. In ‘American Sonnet, ’ there is a great example of alliteration in the fourth and fifth stanzas. It can be seen through the reuse of the “w” consonant sound at the beginning of multiple words.
Jul 28, 2021 · Alliteration uses consonant sounds at the beginning of a word to give stress to its syllable. This technique plays a crucial role in poetry by lending a strong rhythm and musical structure to any verse. Explore a few famous alliteration poems to see examples of this technique.
