Definition of alliteration
Etymology
Latin ad + litera letter.
Pronunciation
Noun
alliteration (plural alliterations)
- The repetition of consonants at the beginning of two or more words immediately succeeding each other, or at short intervals; as in the following lines: -
Behemoth, biggest born of earth, upheaved His vastness. -Milton.
Fly o'er waste fens and windy fields. -Alfred Tennyson.
Usage notes
The recurrence of the same letter in accented parts of words is also called alliteration. Anglo-Saxon poetry is characterized by alliterative meter of this sort. Later poets also employed it.
In a somer seson whan soft was the sonne, I shope me in shroudes as I a shepe were. - Piers Plowman.
References:
- Wiktionary. Published under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
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