Poetry Articles for Poetry Writers at World of Poets

by Al Rocheleau

Alliteration is a sound device (like rhyme, its cousin) that can add much beauty to a poem, either in fixed for free form. It is a repetition of single sounds (whereas rhyme is repetition of several sounds blended), and occurs most often at the beginnings of words in a line or lines ("love's lead laurel"-- all the l's) but also elsewhere in words ("benign, ignored or nullified"--the n's.)

Both of those above examples of alliteration come under the "subdivison" of consonance, meaning consonant sounds that repeat. Vowel sounds that repeat come under the term assonance (something like "his vague, slate and aching eyes"--check the a's). Like any good decorative device, alliteration can be easily overdone. So...

USE ALLITERATION SPARINGLY. Just like rhyme, too much turns the cake into "all frosting."

(Before:)

Pompeii's frozen, frantic forms,
fill and frame a thousand furrows,
forgotten.

(Instead, how about:)

Pompeii's frozen forms, a thousand,
framed in their happenstance,
harmed and harmless,
wait for nothing
wait, and get it.

The f's are pruned a bit (down to 3 from 6), and slightly broken up, so the effect is not so relentless; also mixed in was a group of 3 h's, giving the reader another twist. But as always, the image, and the statement, is more important than the tricks of the language.

Alliteration is a terrific tool for your toolbox, especially after you get the somewhat easier "hang" of consonance and then start to delve into clustering vowels to create light or dark effects (the "assonance" part). As with rhyme, be judicious in your use of alliteration-- but have fun making poems that reflect the beauty of the device.

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