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.

My Baby Brother’s Birthday
My Family Portrait by Kenn Nesbitt
My Family Portrait
Fancy Dancer by Kenn Nesbitt
Fancy Dancer
A Rumble in My Bedroom by Kenn Nesbitt
A Rumble in My Bedroom
Josh, Who Didn’t Like to Wash
Moving to China
Snow Mail by Kenn Nesbitt
Snow Mail
I Bought a New Banana Suit
Somewhere Sometime by Kenn Nesbitt
Somewhere Sometime
My Puppy Makes Pizza
My Dog Likes to Disco
Morning Sports
My Cow Bess
My Penmanship Is Pretty Bad by Kenn Nesbitt
My Penmanship Is Pretty Bad
Triangles Make Me Feel Nervous by Kenn Nesbitt
Triangles Make Me Feel Nervous
The Candy Cane Collector
I Love to Read a Mystery by Kenn Nesbitt
I Love to Read a Mystery
Splash by Kenn Nesbitt
Splash!
My Favorite Food Is Broccoli
Digging for Diamonds by Kenn Nesbitt
Digging for Diamonds
Glurp the Purple Alien
Monkey Dream
My Parents Sent Me To the Store
The Toughest Pastry Maker

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