Alliterative verse in one form or another is shared by all of the Germanic languages. In the English language, alliteration occurs in Old English poetry, of which it was a central component. In the Romantic era, it was once more given attention: the Romantics were generally interested in making poetry more musical, and in the ancient heritage of their native languages. Richard Wagner, for instance, used alliteration extensively in his operatic texts. (cf. Stabreim)

Examples

Examples of alliteration include well-known tongue-twisters such as "Round the rugged rock the ragged rascal ran" and "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers."

Examples of consonance include "Sparkling...Flavorful...Miller High Life" (advertising slogan for Miller beer).

alliterations

Common examples

Like rhyme, alliteration is a great help to memory: it is 'catchy', and frequently used in news headlines, corporate names, literary titles, advertising, buzzwords, and nursery rhymes.

• baby boom
• back to basics
• Billy Bob
• balance the books
• Beavis and Butt-Head
• Big Bang
• Big Ben
• boom or bust
• Clyde Cook
• Coca-Cola
• Curry Castle, Curry Cottage, and Curry Condo
• do or die
• final four
• green as grass
• hale and hearty
• kill the king
• John Jacob Jingleheimer Smith
• Jenna Jameson
• live the life
• Making magic
• March Madness
• Mathematical Meandering
• McDonald's Massacre
• McMurder
• Methuselah Mouse
• Mickey Mouse
• Mickey Mantle
• Monday morning
• the more the merrier
• nattering nabobs of negativism
• pay the price
• peer-to-peer
• Political Policy
• Pontiac Pursuit
• poor but proud
• Sesame Street
• sink or swim
• Suffering Succotash
• Super Sonic
• Surround Sound
• sweet sixteen
• it takes two to Tango
• Tiny Tim
• Take two
• Tribulation Tech
• watchful waiting

• Doug's Dog Digs Dirt

At least two notable computer games are named with alliteration:

• Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards
• Leisure Suit Larry 3: Passionate Patti in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals

The Leisure Suit Larry (and other) games often feature alliteration for humorous names of fictional companies, magic spells etc.

Occasionally parents and authors use alliteration in the naming of their children and characters:

• Bilbo Baggins
• Bugs Bunny
• Daffy Duck
• Daisy Duck
• Donald Duck
• King Kong
• Larry Laffer
• Marvin the Martian
• Mickey Mouse
• Minnie Mouse
• Porky Pig
• Woody Woodpecker

It is also common in the naming of many comic book characters:

• Clark Kent
• Lois Lane
• Lana Lang
• Lex Luthor
• Lionel Luthor
• Peter Parker
• Scott Summers
• Warren Worthington III
• Betsy Braddock
• Matthew Michael Murdock
• Reed Richards
• J. Jonah Jameson
• Susan Storm
• Bruce Banner
• Wade Wilson

Stan Lee, co-creator of many comic book super-heroes, has stated that he named many of his characters using alliteration as a mnemonic device as he is creator of many, and often forgets easily.

The 2005 film V for Vendetta depicts the protagonist V introducing himself to Evey Hammond with the following alliterative line:

Voila! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a bygone vexation stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengeance, a vendetta held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and voracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so allow me to simply add that it is my very good honor to meet you, and you may call me V.

See also

• alliterative verse
• Figure of speech
• Rhetoric
• Consonance
• Assonance
• Rhyming
• Cynghanedd
• baby talk

External links

• Links on alliteration from the Open Directory Project
• http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/lit_terms/alliteration.html
• Alliteration as a figure of speech
• Audio illustrations of alliteration as figure of speech
• http://www.doriebooks.com alliterated children's book with lesson plan on writing with alliteration