What is Alliteration?

What is alliteration? Simply, it's a string of similar sounds at the start of several words in a sentence.

 

Why use alliteration? Mostly, it makes reading more musical and flowing, which is fun for friends to follow!

When I'm writing or editing (fixing and improving something I've written), and I'm looking for more interesting or unusual words to use, I will often choose words to create alliteration.

For example, instead of writing: " pretty, nosy cat" you could write, "cute, curious cat."
Instead of writing: "my friend mixed tomato sauce" you could write, "my sister stirred spaghetti sauce." If you go overboard with the alliteration, you'll end up with tongue twisters, which are really hard to read out loud without making mistakes.

Here are a couple of examples:

"If Stu chews shoes, should Stu choose the shoes he chews?" and "Santa's short suit shrunk."

You can read more tongue twisters here: http://www.funenglishgames.com/funstuff/tonguetwisters.html

While you're at it, check out a book called The Spaghetti Slurping Sewer Serpent. It was written by a friend of mine, Laura Ripes, and it's filled with tons of "S" alliteration.

 

Now try writing some alliteration and tongue twisters yourself!

-Lori

Tongue-Twister Time

Sally sells seashells down by the seashore.
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

I bet you can tell me what makes these tongue-twisters so fun!
Repetition of the same beginning sound in a phrase or sentence is called ________________.

ALLITERATION!

I use alliteration in poetry more than anywhere else, but I do pay attention to how much I use it. Too much alliteration can be a bad thing. With just the right amount, I can create a smooth transition between words. I want those words to easily roll out of a reader's mouth. In my picture book about a storm, I rely on alliteration for impact:

RUMBLE! RAP! ROAR!

When that book gets released, it'll be a great resource for teachers who teach alliteration, that's for sure.

Here's a really cool quiz that's challenging because you have to count the sounds and complete the quiz within 60 seconds. It's designed for 9th graders, but I bet you can do it! Try it HERE.