Alliteration is a literary technique when two or more words are linked that share the same first consonant sound, such as “fish fry.” Derived from Latin meaning “letters of the alphabet,” here are some famous examples of alliteration:
Example of Alliteration
- Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
- Sally sells seashells by the sea shore.
- How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
- I hold with those who favour fire
- Little Larry likes licking the sticky lollipop.
- rocky road
- picture perfect
- high heaven
- Fantastic Four
- Hip Hop
What’s the Difference Between Alliteration, Assonance, and Consonance?
There are two sound-based literary devices that are very similar to, and sometimes confused with, alliteration: assonance and consonance.
Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in a sentence, like “The squeaky wheel gets the grease.”
Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in a sentence, like “All’s well that ends well.”
The difference between alliteration vs. assonance vs. consonance isn’t as tricky as it seems. Here are the definitions for each sound device:
In short we can say that :
- Alliteration – repeated initial consonant sounds in multiple words
- Assonance – repeated vowel sounds in multiple words
- Consonance – repeated consonant sounds in multiple words