Sound Devices Commonly Used in

Literature

3 Basic Sound Devices

Alliteration

What is Alliteration?

Alliteration is the repetition of the initial consonant sound in two or

more neighboring words or syllables.

Also known as Initial Rhyme.

Here are some examples:

• the wild winds of winter

• Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

ALLITERATION

DEFINITION: Alliteration is the repetition

of initial consonant sounds within writing

EXAMPLE: The dangerous dog dared the crazy kids to crash into his kibble.

What is the purpose of Alliteration?

The purpose of alliteration is to create a consistent pattern that catches the

mind's eye and focuses attention.

The railroad tracks ran right

through the center of town.

Alliteration makes the reader read faster, thereby adding a sense of speed and intensity to the sentence.WriteGuide’s Letter Writing Program

Alliterative poems tend to be tongue twisters. They are

written for the fun they bring when they are read!

Sally sells

seashells by

the seashore!

Let’s look at another example.Can you follow its meaning?

WEATHER

Whether the weather be fineOr whether the weather be

not,Whether the weather be coldOr whether the weather be

hot,We'll weather the weather

Whatever the weather,Whether we like it or not.

-- Anonymous

Alliteration isn’t always used as tongue twisters. It can be as simple as

Seals are super!

Rules for Alliteration

Alliteration is NOT a repetition of LETTERS; it is

a repetition of SOUND.

For example, never and knight alliterate because they begin with the same consonant sound.

Conversely, even though tall and thank begin with the same letter, they do not alliterate

because they don’t begin with the same consonant sound.

Now, it’s your turn…to practice your alliteration skills.

Alliteration Practice:finish the phrases with a noun that starts with the same consonant sound

1. Four frightened _______________

2. Six smiley ____________________

3. Seven soggy ___________________

4. Ten trembling __________________

5. One wandering _________________

6. Thirty-Three ____________________

7. Fifty famous____________________

FELINESSISTERS

SANDWICHES

TIGERS

WOMAN

THUMBS

FIREFIGHTERS

Alliteration is known as a “SOUND DEVICE” since it

deals with sounds.Sound Devices are NOT just repeating consonant sounds at the beginning of words,

because repetition could be in the middle or end of a word. Sound Devices can

even involve vowels!

CONSONANCE

Consonance is a lot like

alliteration, except the consonant sounds are repeated at the end

of the word.

Examples:1. More men came home that day

than we ever expected.2. Grandma gave the big dog a hug.

(Above, the red sounds identified are examples of alliteration, while the green sounds are examples of consonance.)

ASSONANCE

When vowel sounds repeat with other vowels

it is called Assonance.

Examples:The sleeping geeks had stinky feet.

The brown cow fell down in the lake and drowned.

Alliteration is all around us!

Take some time to look around and notice…

In a Story or poetry…

Fresh Fish

Do you like fresh fish?

It's just fine at Finney's Diner.

Finney also has some fresher fish

that's fresher and much finer.

But his best fish is his freshest fish

and Finney says with pride,

"The finest fish at Finney's is

my freshest fish, French-fried!""Oh say can you say" Dr. Seuss, 1979

In Sports (Sports writers REALLY love alliteration!)…

On Billboards in advertising…

Restaurants advertise using the help of alliteration.

Product Advertising (another HUGE user of alliteration)

Brand Names

Store Names

Television

Can you think of other examples?

Are you paying attention?Are you reading carefully?

Then how about anextra credit opportunity???

☺

Assignment: Create a PowerPoint slideshow.

Requirements:1. Your slideshow must include at least 6 slides (TWO

examples of each sound device is required).

2. Each slide will have its own sentences/examples using alliteration, consonance, or assonance. (Examples can be school-appropriate lyrics from songs.)

3. Each slide will have a coordinating picture to go with the example.

4. Use complete sentences that make sense.

5. Use correct punctuation.

6. This PowerPoint can be sent as an attachment to tara.gauntt@cobbk12.org.

7. This assignment is DUE NO LATER THAN MONDAY, 10/18/21. ABSOLUTELY NO LATE EXTRA CREDIT WILL BE ACCEPTED!