What is Alliteration?

Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds. The repeated consonants normally occur at the beginning of words or in stressed syllables.

In Anglo-Saxon or Old English poetry, alliteration was used as a rule along with accentual meter. In its broad meaning, alliteration also includes assonance also; in that sense, the repetition of consonant sounds is called consonance and the repetition of vowel sounds is called assonance. Hopkins’ poem “The Windhover” has used alliteration extensively.

Published on 23 Jan. 2014 by Kedar Nath Sharma