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.

Arthur the Artist
The Gorgon Sisters
Levitating Lester by Kenn Nesbitt
Levitating Lester
Patricia Brought Her Parakeet by Kenn Nesbitt
Patricia Brought Her Parakeet
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
Gordon’s Garden
I Bought a Balloon
Wally Wards the Sword Swallower by Kenn Nesbitt
Wally Wards the Sword Swallower
Today Is the Day by Kenn Nesbitt
Today Is the Day
I Have an Amoeba
My Brother Wants to Be a Chef by Kenn Nesbitt
My Brother Wants to Be a Chef
Auntie Gravity
Back-to-School Shopping
Bed Head by Kenn Nesbitt
Bed Head
How Not to Make a Cardboard Fort
Gladiola's Garden by Kenn Nesbitt
Gladiola’s Garden
Bad Bertie Bartigan by Kenn Nesbitt
Bad Bertie Bartigan
Bradley Beard by Kenn Nesbitt
Bradley Beard is Rather Weird
My Mother Makes Prickly Pear Pastries by Kenn Nesbitt
My Mother Makes Prickly Pear Pastries
Pete the Pirate Wannabe by Kenn Nesbitt
Pete the Pirate Wannabe
The Horsemen Are Headless this Evening by Kenn Nesbitt
The Horsemen Are Headless this Evening

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