Authors can use any variety of techniques to hold the attention of their readers. One such technique is the use of figures of speech, which are ways of saying something other than in the ordinary or literal way. There are many different figures of speech. In this article, we'll look at alliteration.

What is alliteration?

Alliteration is the repetition of a sound (usually a consonant) at the beginning of two or more words that are close to one another. This line from Byron's famous poem "The Destruction of Sennacherib" uses alliteration by repeating the sound s:

"And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea"

Examples

You'll find examples of alliteration in various types of writing, both funny and serious.

Tongue twisters

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

Slogans

Publish or perish.

Expressions

Sink or swim.

Live and learn.

Good as gold.

Poems

"In Flanders fields the poppies blow" (John McCrae)

"Like sadness sweet of synagogal hum" (A. Klein, "Autobiographical")

"Across the sleeping furrows / I call the buried seed, / And blade and bud and blossom / Awaken at my need." (Bliss Carman, "Earth Voices")

Prose

"In the dim night-light of the ward their eyes focussed fearfully, drifted, then refocussed." (Rohinton Mistry, Such a Long Journey)

"The preferred term these days is 'teachings'…because it recognizes the fact that most myths exist for a purpose—that there's some nugget of metaphor or message within the subtext." (Drew Hayden Taylor, "Seeing red over myths")

At the bottom of the stairs, there's a hat and umbrella stand, the bentwood kind, long rounded rungs of wood curving gently up to hooks shaped like the opening fronds of a fern. (Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale)

Why use alliteration?

Alliteration calls attention to certain words or ideas, making them stand out. In the slogan "Publish or perish," the repetition of the "p" sounds puts emphasis on the idea that academics must publish books and articles to further their careers. Alliteration is particularly useful for slogans, since it makes them easy to remember.

Also, alliteration is pleasing to the ear and is therefore a very effective device in both poetry and literary prose.