In the Writing Center with Ronnie B: A Quick Look at Alliteration, Consonance, and Rhyme

Explains how to use alliteration, consonance, and rhyme to make writing musical, rhythmical, and memorable.

alliteration: the repetition of sounds at the beginning of words in succession or proximity.

consonance: the repetition of sounds that occur within successive words.

rhyme: identity in sound of some part, especially the end, of words or lines of verse; a word agreeing with another in terminal sound.

Alliteration, consonance, and rhyme can make writing musical and rhythmical and therefore memorable (pleasing to the mind and ear). Here is an example of alliteration:

• The puffers politicians piously profess to protect are the people whose pockets are being picked.
• Ronnie’s Records: Redondo’s most reliable resource for real rock ‘n roll.

Here are examples of both alliteration and consonance, the second from William Shakespeare:

• All of us at Pentad were pleased to find Frank Pierce polite, punctual, and professional. Pierce’s impeccable appearance and positive performance were greatly appreciated.
• When to the sessions of sweet silent thought I summon up remembrance of things past.

Notice in the Shakespeare example above the repetition of “s” sounds that begin words and the “t” sounds within words. The “hissing” or “s” sound made by the consonants s, z, sh, and zh is called sibilance (“sibilus” means to hiss or whistle); it’s a common alliterative device.

Rhymes and near rhymes (also called slant rhymes, crooked rhymes, or phonetic rhymes) can also make writing musical, rhythmical, and memorable.

• Saturdays and Sundays are fat and fun days.
• She found that lime removed the slime and grime that accumulated with time.

Here is a slant or phonetic rhyme from ’90s country rockers Brooks and Dunn:

• “Rock my world little country girl.”

“World” and “girl” do not rhyme perfectly. But when you place enough distance between the two words, the -irl sound (“earl”) in both makes them sound like a perfect rhyme. Popular music lyrics are full of slant rhymes; rock music depends heavily upon them. Listen carefully and you’ll often hear lyrical passages in which “love” is slant-rhymed with “of” and/or “drug,” as in Roxy Music’s:

• “Love is the drug I’m thinking of.”

Here’s an example that uses alliteration, consonance, rhyme, and slant rhyme:

• I remember Saturday sweets, ice-cream treats, and sidewalks and streets too hot for bare feet.

Notice the alliteration (all the s-sounds); the consonance (the e-sounds of sweets, cream, treats, streets, feet); the rhyme (sweets, treats, streets); and the slant rhyme (streets, feet).