Poetry Prescription: Alliteration

​​It’s time for another blog post about the use of poetic devices in picture book writing. Today, we’ll take a look at the poetic device: Alliteration
 

Alliteration is the repetition of a sound at the beginning of words.
​Its effect:
- heightens the relationship between words
- adds a musical quality
​- captures a certain mood through repeated sounds

​Rhyme Doctor Patricia Toht uses alliteration to great advantage in her picture book, PICK A PUMPKIN (illustrated by Jarvis). Listen to the bouncy “p” sounds in her opening line . . .
 
Pick a pumpkin from the patch . . .

Patty’s “p” alliteration sets up a spirited and energetic mood for the pumpkin hunt!
​

 

​​My nonfiction book SWEET DREAMS, WILD ANIMALS (illustrated by Laurie Caple) uses rhyming stanzas to detail the different ways some animals fall asleep. Here is a line about the Magnificent Frigatebird:
 
This seabird soars high in the sky
She glides with grace and flair . . .

​I use repeating “s” sounds to create a softer, peaceful mood to match the feeling of seeing a bird soaring in the air.

Take a look at the poetry collection FINDING TREASURE: A Collection of Collections by Rhyme Doctor Michelle Schaub (illustrated by Carmen Saldana). In the poem, “Whose Forgotten Treasures?” consider this stanza:
 
Stashed in the attic,
a small shadow box
holds rows of old keys
long lost from their locks.

​​I so enjoy the repeated “l” sounds in Michelle’s final line of the opening stanza. This use of alliteration adds a lilting mood to this piece celebrating old treasures discovered in the attic.

​Using alliteration adds a wonderful musical quality to your phrases and can also set the tone you wish to convey in your piece.

Do you have a poem or picture book in progress where you can utilize alliteration in a line or two? What type of mood would you like to create?  

​Poetic devices are a great tool in your writer’s toolbox. I’ll see you back here next month.
Happy writing!
 
by Eileen Meyer, Rhyme Doctor