Alliteration

In poetry, alliteration refers to repetition of a consonant in any syllables that, according to the poem's meter, are stressed as if they occurred at the beginning of a word, as in James Thomson's verse "Come…dragging the lazy languid Line along" ^[1].

Alliteration is usually distinguished from the mere repetition of the same sound in positions other than the beginning of each word — whether a consonant, as in "some mammals are clammy" (consonance) or a vowel, as in "yellow wedding bells" (assonance); but the term is sometimes used in these broader senses. Alliteration may also include the use of different consonants with similar properties (labials, dentals, etc.) ^[2] or even the unwritten glottal stop that precedes virtually every word-initial vowel in the English language, as in the phrase "Apt alliteration's artful aid" (despite the unique pronunciation of the "a" in each word) ^[3].

Alliteration is commonly used in many languages, especially in poetry. Alliterative verse was an important ingredient of poetry in Old English and other old Germanic languages like Old High German, Old Norse, and Old Saxon. On the other hand, its accidental occurrence is often viewed as a defect.

Literature and poetry

Relative formal accessibility of alliteration makes it one of the most commonly used literary tools in English, tracing its origins to Old English and its ancestral languages. Old Germanic poetry was mostly in the form of alliterative verse that relied heavily on consonance and assonance rather than rhyme. An example of Old English alliterative verse, is this passage from the famous poem Beowulf, lines 1162-1165:^[4]

Statistical analysis of alliteration use in a Thomas Churchyard poem was used in order to correctly date it in relation to his other works.^[5] Statistics can also fuel debates on whether alliterations in literary works were included by chance or by the author’s volition, as in a recent study of 100 Shakespearian sonnets.^[6]

Alliteration still seems to maintain an important, though perhaps more subtle, part in contemporary English poetry. Books aimed at young readers often use alliteration, as it consistently captures children's interest, as the "powerful Poo-A-Doo powder" and the "Bitsy Big-Boy Boomeroo" in Dr. Seuss's The Butter Battle Book.

Among contemporary literature, crime fiction writer James Ellroy employed alliteration extensively in the second volume of his Underworld USA Trilogy, The Cold Six Thousand, consistent with the novel's hard-boiled tabloid style.

Usage in English

Pop culture

Alliteration survives most obviously in modern English in hip-hop, magazine article titles, advertisements and business names, comic strip or cartoon characters, and common expressions: ^[7]

• Movie Titles: V for Vendetta (including the "V" introductory monologue).
• Places in books: Bat Barn, Terror Tombs, Vampire Village
• Comics/cartoons and characters: Beetle Bailey, Donald Duck, and Mickey Mouse. Stan Lee has stated that he used alliteration extensively when naming his superhero characters because such names stand out and are more memorable (e.g. Scott Summers, Peter Parker, Sue Storm and many others). V for Vendetta is famous for the self-introductory monologue by the title character, a few paragraphs long, that consists almost entirely of words starting with the letter V.
• Magazine articles: “Science has Spoiled my Supper”^[8], “Too Much Talent in Tennessee?”^[9], and "Kurdish Control of Kirkuk Creates a Powder Keg in Iraq" ^[10]
• Children's Books: Animalia by Graeme Base is a famous example of alliteration within a storybook. Many names in the Harry Potter series feature alliterations (e.g. Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin were the four wizards who founded Hogwarts School, and Severus Snape, Minerva McGonnagall, and Filius Flitwick are among the professors).
• Shops: "Coffee Corner", "Sushi Station", "Best Buy".
• Expressions: "busy as a bee", "dead as a doornail", "good as gold", "right as rain", etc..
• Music: CSN's Helplessly Hoping, Janet Jackson, Franz Ferdinand, Kerry Katona, Blackalicious's Alphabet Aerobics. Within Tupac Shakur's song If I Die 2 Nite, the lyrics consist of alliteration mostly with "P" beginning words, sometimes replaced by "C" or "K".
• Names and pseudonyms: Ronald Reagan, Alex Adams, Rodney Rude, Marilyn Manson, Bradley Branning, Peter Pan.
• Sports Teams: Buffalo Bills, Seattle Seahawks, Seattle Sounders, Los Angeles Lakers, Jacksonville Jaguars, New Jersey Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers, San Antonio Spurs, Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Phillies, Tennessee Titans, Brisbane Broncos, Penrith Panthers, Sydney Swans, Hawthorn Hawks, port Adelaide Power, St Kilda Saints
• The release names of the Linux distribution, Ubuntu.

Old English names

Another use of alliteration in Old English, outside the literary sphere, is found in personal name giving.^[11] This is evidenced by the unbroken series of 9th century kings of Wessex named Æthelwulf, Æthelbald, Æthelberht, and Æthelred. These were followed in the 10th century by their direct descendants Æthelstan and Æthelred II, who ruled as kings of England.^[12] The Anglo-Saxon saints Tancred, Torhtred and Tova provide a similar example, among siblings.^[13] A well-known modern example of alliteration in name giving is the Gracie family.

See also

• Assonance
• Consonance
• Alliterative verse
• poets
• Old English

References