Alliteration defined as the repetition of the same sound or consonant when starting words that need to stressed on in a sentence.

Alliteration Examples

Alliteration is the practice of using the same consonant in the beginning of more than two words in a sentence. The repetition does not always have to be that of a consonant. Even the sound, if repeated, can be considered as alliteration. If you look hard enough, you will see examples of alliteration all around you (even in the sentence that you just read). Your next obvious question will be, “why do people or authors use alliteration?” The answer is very simple; alliteration is used by us to draw attention to or stress on adjectives, verbs or subjects involved in a particular statement. Alliteration is something that can be found in both poetry and prose. A list of the more well know poems and poets who used alliteration would include John Milton’s poem ‘Paradise Lost’, Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem ‘Sir Galahad’ and Robert Frost’s poem ‘The Death of the Hired Man’. Alliteration in prose is not always deliberate and can be found in the most common books around. Alliteration is so common that it can be seen in the names of certain brands, like Coca-Cola, Chuckee Cheese, PayPal, Dunkin’ Donuts and American Airlines, too.

Examples of Alliteration
  • "Gee, Great Aunt Nellie, why aren't any golden goldfinches going to the goodies?" "Oh," said Aunt Nellie, "They thrive on thistle and I thoroughly thought that I threw the thistle out there. (‘Thank you for the Thistle’ by Dorie Thurston)
  • Whereat, with blade, with bloody blameful blade,
    He bravely breach'd his boiling bloody breast.
  • Landscapes plotted and pieced—fold, fallow and plough
  • The poem ‘Dewdrops Dancing Down Daisies’ By Paul Mc Cann
  • Their taut tails thrashing they twist in tribute to the titans (From ‘Dewdrops Dancing Down Daisies’ By Paul Mc Cann)
  • Alice’s aunt ate apples and acorns around August
  • Fred’s friends fried Fritos for Friday’s food
  • Eric’s eagle eats eggs, enjoying each episode of eating.
  • Larry’s lizard likes leaping
  • Nick’s nephew needed a new notebook.
  • Ralph’s reindeer rose rapidly and ran around the garden
  • Zachary zeroed in on the zoo keeper.
  • Sara’s seven sisters slept soundly.
  • Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
  • We felt dreary and dismal in the darkness of the night.
  • What a tale of terror, now, their turbulency tells! (‘The Bells’ by Edgar Allan Poe)
  • The sibilant sermons of the snake as she discoursed upon the disposition of my sinner's soul seemed ceaseless. (The Gargoyle by Gregory Kirschling)
  • The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. (Henry David Thoreau’s Walden)
  • A moist young moon hung above the mist of a neighboring meadow. (Vladimir Nabokov’s Conclusive Evidence)
  • Good men are gruff and grumpy, cranky, crabbed, and cross. (Clement Freud)
  • My style is public negotiations for parity, rather than private negotiations for position. (Jesse Jackson)
  • I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet
    When far away an interrupted cry
    Came over houses from another street (
    From the poem ‘Acquainted With the Night’ by Robert Frost)

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