Alliteration

 

Alliteration refers to the repetition of the initial consonant sound, like ‘Peter Pan picked a peck of pickled pepper’. One important factor of alliteration is the fact that it depends not on the letters but on the sounds. Therefore, ‘know-nothing’ is alliterative, whereas ‘chemical change’ is not. The purpose of alliteration is to create a consistent pattern that will catch the eye of the mind of the readers. Therefore, writers aiming for a way to draw readers’ attention to a particular scene usually use alliterative phrases in order to focus the readers' attention. Alliterative phrases are used occasionally in poems, song lyrics, tongue twisters, quotes, and even in brand names.

 

 

Let me give you some examples of alliteration. Firstly, let's look at the poem 'The Raven', written by Edgar Allen Poe. In this poem, there is a phrase saying, 'doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before'. In this phrase, the same initial consonant sound repeats, making a rhythm that acts as an efficient way to draw the readers' attention.

 

 

Alliteration is also used in tongue twisters, as it can easily make rhythms that can sound fun. One famous example is '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, how many pickled peppers did Peter Piper pick?'. Additionally, alliterative phrases appear in many quotes, such as 'Busy as a bee', and 'Make a mountain out of a molehill.'

 

 

As alliterative phrases can draw people's attention easily, it is used frequently in brand names. Famous companies like Coca-Cola, Dunkin Donuts, Best Buy are perfect examples of this. Many bands also use alliteration for their band name. Good examples of this would be 'Franz Ferdinand', 'Foo Fighters', 'Beastie Boys', and so on.