Alliteration letter b

101 Alliteration Examples | Ereading Worksheets

Alliteration is a poetic technique in which the initial consonant sounds of words are repeated in close succession. To put it more simply: alliteration is when the beginning sounds of words repeat. It is important to note that alliteration is about the sounds of words, not the letters; therefore, the letter “k” and “c” can be used alliteratively (as in  kitchen and cookie), as well as the letter “s” and “c” (as in sparkle and  cycle).  Also, the words do not need to be directly next to each other in the sentence or stanza to be considered alliterative (although they often are). There is no agreed upon rule governing the distance that alliterative words must share in order for these words to be considered alliteration, but a good guideline to follow is that if you can not detect the repetition of the sounds upon reading the text aloud, then it is unlikely that others would consider the use to be alliterative.

Repeating the same first consonant sounds in a series of words

Here is a list of 101 examples of alliteration in alphabetical order:

Examples of Alliteration Using the “B” Sound

1. Janie read a book by the babbling brook.

2. The child bounced the ball at the backyard barbeque.

3. The barbarians broke through the barricade.

4. He acts silly at times, but he was blessed with a brilliant brain.

5. The beautiful bouquet blossomed in the bright sun.

Examples of Alliteration Using the “C” and “K” Sounds

6. When the canary keeled over, the coal miners left the cave.

7. The captain couldn’t keep the men in the cabin.

8. Erin cooked cupcakes in the kitchen.

9. My Cadillac was completely crushed in a car crash.

10. The candy was killing my cavity.

Examples of Alliteration Using the “Ch” Sound

11. Despite their mother’s warnings, the children chose to chew with their mouths open.

12. The rich man was so cheap that it was chilling.

13. The crowd cheered when the champion hit the challenger with a chair.

14. We sat around the campfire and chomped on chunks of charred chicken.

15. Change the channel.

Examples of Alliteration Using the “D” Sound

16. They would have been on time, if they didn’t dilly-dally.

17. He dunked the delicious donut in dairy creamer.

18. There is nothing but death in the desert during the day.

19. I woke up at school in a slobbery pool; though I used to be dry, now I’m drowning in drool.

20. I dreamt of a drip-dropping drain in my dream.

Examples of Alliteration Using the “F” and  “Ph” Sounds

21. Your friends will flip-flop fast when facing trouble.

22. Our financial future fell into a freefall.

23. The stuntman flipped from a forty foot Ferris wheel.

24. I forgot my flip phone but felt free.

25. That’s the first photo of France from the Moon.

Examples of Alliteration Using the “G” Sound

26. When the tests were distributed, the guys grimaced and groaned.

27. The girl grabbed the golden goose and ran.

28. Grass grows greener in the graveyard.

29. The ghouls and ghosts greeted the gangly goblins.

30. I reached under the desk and grabbed the gross gum.

Examples of Alliteration Using the “H” Sound

31. The hummingbirds hovered in heavenly harmony.

32. She happily helped the homeless.

33. The hecklers hassled the humble harmonica player.

34. After Monique dumped Brian, his heart hung heavily.

35. Those horses have heavy hooves.

Examples of Alliteration Using the “J” and “G” Sounds

36. The gentle giant jumped in jubilation.

37. Juggling jack o’lanterns is my job.

38. He jabbed the javelin into the jail cell.

39. Jellyfish have germs and jarring toxins.

40. The gym was jammed with jelly jars and junk.

Examples of Alliteration Using the “L” Sound

41. Whenever he lied, he lisped a little.

42. The lion licked his lips.

43. Feeling rather lazy, he laid low in the lounge.

44. We lamented the Lord’s lost labor.

45. Her love languished in the limelight.

Examples of Alliteration Using the “M” Sound

46. Menacing sounds of mashing metal machines emanated from the mines.

47. All of the millionaire’s money only made him more melancholy.

48. My mother makes a mouthwatering mincemeat pie.

49. There are madmen in the middle of those mountains.

50. Most monsters don’t mind making messes.

Examples of Alliteration Using the “N,” “Gn,” and “Kn” Sounds

51. My neighbors are not normally noisy.

52. I knew that she’d be a natural at kneading the noodle dough.

53. The ninjas gnashed their knives and nailed their targets.

54. The newt nuzzled in a narrow nook.

55. Mom nabbed her niece by the nape of her neck.

Examples of Alliteration Using the “P” Sound

56. The prince pressed the royal seal on the purple parchment.

57. A paper plane passed over my head.

58. The parrot perched upon the pirate’s peacoat.

59. Sue went to the party and pretended that she was people person.

60. The girls played patty-cake on the park bench.

Examples of Alliteration Using the “R” and “Wr” Sounds

61. The red roses were wrapped in ribbons.

62. She rarely reads; she’d rather write her own books.

63. A radar ring rippled across the monitor.

64. Those ravenous research rabbits have gone rabid!

65. The reporter wrote about the rebel raid.

Examples of Alliteration Using the “S” and “C” Sounds

66. The snake slithered across the sandy seaside.

67. My sassy sister slapped the villain silly.

68. That’s the sound of someone sipping soup for supper.

69. She sniffed and smelled sage and sassafras.

70. Seeking sanctuary, they formed a circle of spears.

Examples of Alliteration Using the “Sh” Sound

71. She should share her sherbert with her sister.

72. A shard of shrapnel shaved her shoulder blade.

73. The sheep were schlepping shyly by the shark tank.

74. He found a shell that even shimmered in the shade.

75. The sheriff wore a shiny star shaped shield.

Examples of Alliteration Using the “St” Sound

76. The store clerk stood and stared at me in stupor.

77. She stuck the stolen stapler in her suitcase.

78. The students threw stones through the stained glass steeple.

79. Everything rested on the strength of the steel structure.

80. Stern winds strew still waters.

Examples of Alliteration Using the “T” Sound

81. The teacher took the troublemakers’ toys.

82. They trounced us in the tried and true tradition.

83. The tattle-tale tried to tell the teacher.

84. Try the turkey tacos; they’re quite tasty.

85. The tornado tossed the trailer like a trash can.

Examples of Alliteration Using the “V” Sound

86. The vapid vixen vented her various vexations.

87. Valiance is a virtue often vacant from these vermin.

88. We viewed the verdant valleys vaunted vegetation.

89. The ventriloquist varied his voice vociferously.

90. Her views on vices were vaguely veiled at best.

Examples of Alliteration Using the “W” Sound

91. The wind was whistling through the weeping willows.

92. Construction workers whistled at the women.

93. We welcomed all the wise men from the West.

94. Don’t wage a war of words against the world.

95. The waffles worsened while the waiter waited.

Examples of Alliteration Using the “Y,” “Eu,” and “U” Sounds

96. In her youth she yearned to wander yonder Europe.

97. I’m used to yelling at you yellowbellies.

98. Your usefulness was used up yesterday.

Examples of Alliteration Using the “Z” and “X” Sound

99. My zodiac was zooming toward the zenith.

100. The xanthous xenophobes were overzealous.

101. The player zipped by the zonal defense and zeroed in on the end zone.

Alliteration - Definition and Examples

Alliteration Definition

What is alliteration? Here’s a quick and simple definition:

Alliteration is a figure of speech in which the same sound repeats in a group of words, such as the “b” sound in: “Bob brought the box of bricks to the basement.” The repeating sound must occur either in the first letter of each word, or in the stressed syllables of those words.

Some additional key details about alliteration:

• Alliteration is the repetition of sounds, not just letters.
• Alliterative words don’t have to be right next to each other. Other words can appear between them.
• Alliteration is found often in poetry and prose, as well as in commercial writing like brand names and marketing taglines.

How to Pronounce Alliteration

Here's how to pronounce alliteration: uh-lit-uh-ray-shun

Understanding the Rules of Alliteration

Alliteration is complicated enough, and there are enough misconceptions about it, that it’s worth taking a closer look at the rules that cover how alliteration works.

Alliteration Doesn’t Require Sequential Words

The repeated sounds of alliteration do not have to appear in sequential words, one immediately after another. A phrase can still contain alliteration if the repeated sounds are separated by other words. For instance, the example below is alliterative despite the “a” and “of”.

• Peter picked a peck of pickled peppers.

Alliteration Refers to Repeating Sounds, Not Letters

Alliteration isn’t just about repeated letters. It’s about repeated sounds:

• Crooks conspire with the kind king.

This example is alliterative because the “c” and “k” produce the same sound even though they are different letters.

Alliteration, First Syllables, and Stressed Syllables

Some people believe that alliteration occurs whenever the repeating sounds occur in the first syllable of a word, while others argue that alliteration only occurs when the sounds occur on stressed, or emphasized, syllables. People holding these two separate views on alliteration would disagree on whether the following two examples are alliterative:

• Dan declares that he deserves to debate.
• Crooks conspire with the unkind king.

In the first example, the “d” sound clearly occurs in the first syllable of each word, but in three of the words it occurs on an unstressed syllable (de-clares, de-serves, de-bate). In the second example, it occurs in the second syllable of “unkind,” but that second syllable is the stressed one: "un-kind.”

So which side is right? The short answer is that both definitions of alliteration are currently accepted. But, not so long ago, only the stressed-syllable version of alliteration was considered legitimate. Even today many people who really care about alliteration—poets, for instance—would insist that the stressed syllable viewpoint is correct.

Vowels Can Alliterate

While alliteration nowadays most often refers to repetition of the sounds of consonant, vowels can alliterate. For instance, “American alliteration” is alliterative. That said, "open octagon" isn't really alliterative because the "o" makes different sounds in those two words.

Consonant Clusters Affect Alliteration

Alliteration sticklers may contest that the best use of alliteration takes into consideration how certain combinations of consonants affect the resulting sounds. For instance, they might argue that the example “Sam speeds with skill through the storm” is not alliterative because the clusters of “sp,” “sk,” and “st” have their own distinct sounds and therefore don’t alliterate with each other or with a single “s. ” This is not a hard and fast rule by a long shot (and we have an example below from none other than Charles Dickens that actually does alliterate with “st” and “sp”) but the way that consonant clusters can affect the degree of alliteration is still worth knowing about.

Alliteration vs. Consonance vs. Assonance

There are two close relatives of alliteration, both of which are often confused with each other and with alliteration itself. They are consonance and assonance. Here are quick descriptions of each:

• Consonance is the repetition of similar consonant sounds across several words. The repeated sound can occur at any point within the word, not just on first or stressed syllables. So, for example, in the sentence “ A truck full of unlucky ducks careened into the aqueduct,” the hard “k” consonant sound doesn’t just occur on stressed or first syllables, making this an example of consonance but not alliteration.

• Assonance is exactly the same as consonance, but with vowel sounds instead of consonant sounds. An example of assonance is the “oo” sound in this sentence: “The smooth balloon flew up and blew up when it hit the roof.” Note that in this example, because all of the repeated sounds occur on stressed syllables, this example is both assonance and alliteration.

Alliteration, then, is a specialized form of assonance or consonance in which the repeated sounds occur only on stressed syllables.

Alliteration Examples

Alliteration appears all over the place. It is used very often in lyric poetry, and appears regularly in novels, plays, and other literature. It’s also very common in more commercial writing, such as marketing taglines, brand names, and even in naming superheroes.

Alliteration Examples in Literature

Alliteration is common in poetry, as well as in literature ranging from from Shakespeare to Stephen King. Below are some examples.

Alliteration in the Prologue to

This example from lines 5-6 of the Prologue of Romeo and Juliet has two sets of alliteration, one with “f” sounds and one with “l” sounds.

From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;

Alliteration in Robert Frost’s “Birches”

This example from the poem “birches” by Robert Frost includes an alliteratively intense repetition of “b” sounds in every line, and often multiple times per line.

I'd like to go by climbing a birch tree,
And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk
Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more,
But dipped its top and set me down again.
That would be good both going and coming back.
One could do worse than be a swinger of birches.

Alliteration in John Keats’s “Ode to a Nightingale”

In these lines from stanza 7, lines 5-10 of John Keats’s famous “Ode to a Nightingale,” there are alliterations of both “s” and “f” sounds.

Perhaps the self-same song that found a path
Through the sad heart of Ruth, when, sick for home,
She stood in tears amid the alien corn;
The same that oft-times hath
Charm'd magic casements, opening on the foam
Of perilous seas, in faery lands forlorn.

Alliteration in Charles Dickens’

The alliteration of “s” sounds in the example below comes from Part 1, Chapter 5 of Charles Dickens’ novel A Tale of Two Cities. The alliteration, which in each case has the sibilant “s” followed by a harder consonant (either a “p” or a “t”) creates a sound almost of something soft splashing against something hard, which is exactly what Dickens is describing here: blood hitting the hard surface of the street.

“The time was to come, when that wine too would be spilled on the street-stones, and when the stain of it would be red upon many there.”

Alliteration in Toni Morrison’s

In this sample from Part 1, Chapter 9 of her novel Beloved, Toni Morrison intertwines alliteration on the “d,” “l,” “b,” “p,” and “h” sounds. Notice how the “l” sound repeats throughout the entire passage and occurs between the alliteration of the other sounds, which is a good example of how alliterative words don’t always have to occur sequentially to qualify as alliteration.

The dark, dark liver – love it, love it and the beat and beating heart, love that too. More than eyes or feet. More than lungs that have yet to draw free air. More than your life-holding womb and your life-giving private parts, hear me now, love your heart.

Alliteration Examples in Marketing

Marketing copywriters often use alliteration because it can help make phrases and sentences fun to say and easy to remember, perfect for taglines, such as:

• “Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s Maybelline”
• “Snickers satisfies”
• “Be all that you can be, find your future in the Army”

Alliteration is also a tool that many companies use in their branding, so that their names roll off the tongue more easily and stick in your head. For example:

• Best Buy
• Canon Camera
• Krispy Kreme
• Kit Kat
• Bed, Bath, and Beyond

Alliteration Examples in Superheroes

The number of superheroes or supervillains whose names (super-names or alter ego names) are alliterative is frankly astounding. To name just a few:

• Bruce Banner
• Clark Kent
• Green Goblin
• J. Jonah Jameson
• Jessica Jones
• Lois Lane
• Silver Surfer
• Steven Strange
• Teen Titans
• The Fantastic Four
• Wade Wilson
• Wonder Woman

It makes sense when you think about it. Every superhero is like a brand, created by comic-book folks to sound cool and stick in your mind. (That’s also why characters like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck are alliteratively named). Alliteration, you might say, is the real superhero.

Alliteration Examples in Song Lyrics

Just as poets use alliteration for its lyricism and beauty, songwriters in every genre from folk to rap use it to create stylistic effects in their lyrics.

Alliteration in “Hello” by Adele

I've forgotten how it felt before the world fell at our feet.

Alliteration in “It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)” by Bob Dylan

He not busy being born is busy dying.

Alliteration in “Rap God” by Eminem

So I wanna make sure, somewhere in this chicken scratch I
Scribble and doodle enough rhymes
To maybe try to help get some people through tough times
But I gotta keep a few punchlines
Just in case, ‘cause even you unsigned
Rappers are hungry looking at me like it's lunchtime…

Alliteration in “Waiting on the World to Change” by John Mayer

So we keep waiting
Waiting on the world to change
It's hard to beat the system
When we're standing at a distance
So we keep waiting
Waiting on the world to change

Alliteration in “All I Want” by Joni Mitchell

I want to be strong I want to laugh along
I want to belong to the living

The repeated “l” sound in this Joni Mitchell lyric is a good example of alliteration in which the repeated sound does not always occur on the first letter in each successive word. But notice that it does always occur on the stressed syllable, making this an example of alliteration and not just consonance.

Why Do Writers Use Alliteration?

Writers use alliteration, with its emphasis on sound and rhythm, for a variety of different reasons:

• To enhance the beauty of their writing
• To emphasize particular phrases or feelings
• To use the sounds they repeat (a soft “s” or a hard “t”, for instance) to mirror the ideas or events or feelings being described
• To make writing feel merry, musical, and mightily memorable.

Alliteration is especially popular in poetry, which is distinct in its emphasis on sound and rhythm. For example, take a look at the astonishing amount of alliteration in the final stanza of Edgar Allen Poe’s most famous poem, “The Raven”:

And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted—nevermore!

The onslaught of alliteration on the “fl”, “s”, “p”, “d”, and “l” sounds makes the poem feel musical but also overwhelming and mesmerizing, which is precisely what Poe was going for in his poetic tale of a phantasmagorical raven that visits a grieving man who seems to be uncertain if he is awake or asleep.

Other Helpful Alliteration Resources

• The Wikipedia Page on Alliteration: A somewhat technical explanation, including helpful examples from fiction, poetry, and pop culture.
• The Dictionary Definition of Alliteration: Includes a bit on the etymology of alliteration (spoiler: it’s derived from the Medieval Latin word for “letter”).
• A Poet's Guide to Alliterative Verse: Short and to the point. This is an example of a person who is a stickler about alliteration.
• Alliteration on YouTube
  • An impassioned rap performance that’s all about alliteration.
  • An explanation of alliteration and rhyme.

Alliteration

Alliteration is the repetition of one or more consonants to give the text greater musicality and expressiveness. Usually alliteration is used in one, especially significant phrase, but sometimes it can extend to the entire text. Like an entire poem.

The term is derived from the Latin ad - "at", litera - "letter".

Examples

The consonants "t", "p" and "s" are repeated:

Taras did not stop worrying, despite the soothing crackle of the fire.

The consonants "t" and "p" are repeated:

Potapov trampled on the pedestal: “But shouldn’t I go to rest?”

Example from literature

Alliteration is often used to create strong and expressive images in works of art. Examples of can be found in Vladimir Nabokov's short story "The Word":

"I felt, without looking, gloss, corners and edges of huge mosaic rocks"

In poetry, this literary device appears even more often. For example, alliteration in the poem by Alexander Pushkin "The Feast of Peter the Great" is even contained in the title - the consonants "p" and "p" are repeated.

In Agnia Barto's poem "Drum", alliteration is created by repeating the letter "r":

The squad is going to the parade.
The drummer is very happy.

Use of alliteration

Advertising and business

Repetitive consonants attract attention and are easy to remember, so businessmen are willing to use alliteration to come up with eye-catching names for their businesses. Chocolate "Kitkat" , cat food "Kiteket" , lollipops "Chupa Chups" and other brands prove that even a literary device can have commercial potential.

Alliteration makes not only the names of companies or trademarks more attractive and memorable, but also advertising slogans.

Your pussy would buy Whiskas.
Vella. You are wonderful.

Diction

Sometimes consonants in alliteration form difficult-to-pronounce combinations. If you regularly practice their pronunciation, you can develop good diction. Popular tongue twisters about thirty-three tacking and not catching ship or stealing corals Karl are based on alliteration.

Folklore

Common in folk art alliteration. Examples of can be found in proverbs, sayings, sayings, songs.

The quieter you go, the further you'll get.

Important!

Alliteration makes the text more harmonious, emotionally charged and easy to remember.

Too frequent use of alliteration is annoying and distracts from the essence of the text.

Dissonant combinations - especially when more than three consonants follow in a row make the text difficult to understand. For example:

Proezd Dzerzhinsky

Terms that are close in meaning

Tautogram is a literary device in which all words in a text or a separate fragment of it begin with the same letter. A tautogram can be presented as a short poem or a multi-page novel. The tautogram is considered as a special case of alliteration.

Lipogram is a literary technique in which any letter is deliberately not used in the work. A lipogram does not carry a semantic load, and an unwarned reader is unlikely to notice it in advance. Most often, a lipogram is used to develop literary abilities and expand vocabulary.

Alliteration and assonance is a literary technique that consists of repeating vowel sounds. Assonance is characteristic mainly of poetry. Alliteration and assonance can sometimes complement each other. For example, in the Lermontov line:

"Our ears are on top!"

there is also a repetition of the vowel "u" ​​and the consonant "sh".

Alliteration - what is it in literature (examples)

Hello, dear readers of the blog KtoNaNovenkogo. ru. Today we will talk about such a term in Russian as ALLITERATION. This word has Latin roots, and "litera" is translated as "letter".

But this does not say much, so let's look at examples of what alliteration is and where it is most often used.