poetic device: Alliteration

Alliteration is not when words start with the same letter but, rather, when the first stressed (or accented) syllable of two nearby words begin with the same consonant sound. This means that there are basically three types of alliterations:

When nearby words start with the same consonants and the same sounds, such as “dancing dogs”, or “big boys.”
When nearby words start with different consonants but the same sounds, such as “cats and kittens” or “jungle gym.”
When nearby words start with different sounds, but have the same sounds at the beginning of their first stressed syllable, such as “normal banana” (which each have an “n” sound on the first stressed syllable) or “regular karate” (which each have an “r” sound on the first stressed syllable).

These poems include alliterations. Some may have just a single alliteration within the poem, while others may include dozens of alliterations.

Terrible Dream by Kenn Nesbitt
Terrible Dream
Jim Sox by Kenn Nesbitt
Jim Sox
Dizzy Dottie’s Dog Salon
Going Nowhere Slowly by Kenn Nesbitt
Going Nowhere Slowly
When Daniel Went Dancing by Kenn Nesbitt
When Daniel Went Dancing
The Bagel Bird
To Learn to Juggle Prickly Pears by Kenn Nesbitt
To Learn to Juggle Prickly Pears
Sam Who Only Ate Jam by Kenn Nesbitt
Sam, Who Only Ate Jam
Frog Ball
I Made a Hat by Kenn Nesbitt
I Made a Hat
New Computer by Kenn Nesbitt
New Computer
I Sat Down on a Seesaw by Kenn Nesbitt
I Sat Down On a Seesaw
Bouncing Brianna
We Give Each Other Cuckoo Clocks
Broccoli for Breakfast by Kenn Nesbitt
Broccoli for Breakfast
Abrocat the Acrobat
Arthur the Artist
Patricia Brought Her Parakeet by Kenn Nesbitt
Patricia Brought Her Parakeet
Levitating Lester by Kenn Nesbitt
Levitating Lester
The Gorgon Sisters
Shelley Sellers by Kenn Nesbitt
Shelley Sellers
My Sneakers Are Speaking in German by Kenn Nesbitt
My Sneakers are Speaking in German
Forty Purple Porpoises by Kenn Nesbitt
Forty Purple Porpoises
What I Told Mrs. Morris when She Asked How I Was Feeling Today by Kenn Nesbitt
What I Told Mrs. Morris When She Asked How I Was Feeling Today

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