University:
Jackson College
Course:
ENG-131 | Writing Experience I
Academic year:

2022
Views:

82

Pages:

1
Author:

Itzel King

English 11 Honours April 4, 2022 The Use of Alliterations and Euphony Alliterations are a repetition of a same letter or sound at the beginning of words that are next to each other or close together. There are specific types of alliterations that one can create. Examples include include plosive (p, b) alliteration, sibilance (s), dental (d, t) alliteration, guttural (g, r, c) alliteration, fricative (f, ph, v) alliteration, and assonance (similar vowels/diphthongs). Diphthongs are two vowels put together that are pronounced as one syllable (ex. you). Alliteration is used in poetry because it sounds aesthetically pleasing to readers and listeners and grabs their attention effectively. Some examples of alliterations are “Peter Piper picked a pickled pepper,” a plosive alliteration, “Sally sells seashells by the seashore,” a sibilance, and “A good cook could cook as many cookies as a good cook who could cook cookies,” an assonance and guttural alliteration. Alliterations can also be used to highlight or pose importance on the thematically selected words and subject of the text. Something important to remember with alliterations is that its about the sounds, not the letters. So, for example, “crazy cats” is an alliteration, but “thirsty typist” is not, as ‘th’ and ‘ty’ are not similar sounding. A euphonic phrase is a phrase that is melodic and pleasing to the ear. Euphony, while a more subjective literary device, is often caused by similar consonant sounds. These consonants are typically consonants like L, M, N, R, and W, which have soft and muffled sounds. However, consonants with buzzing or hissing sounds, for example, V, Z, S, and H, are also used to create euphony. Harsh sounds are avoided in euphony, as they interrupt the melodic flow of a euphonic phrase. Rhyme, rhythm, repetition and alliteration are often used to create euphony. This is because these poetic devices work to create pleasing sounds, which creates euphony. For example, an alliteration of a consonant like “L” will become a euphony, due to the soft sound “L” creates. Repetition contributes similarly, as repetition of a phrase that has melodic aspects will create euphony. We see rhyme and rhythm often in songs, so when used in a poem, these poetic devices create a flow that can often become euphony. Overall, euphony is created in combination with other poetic devices and utilises the sounds of consonants. This creates a phrase that is pleasing to the ear and often melodic. Some examples of Euphony are: “Whose woods these are I think I know”, “The murmur of innumerable bees”, and “The lunar eclipse passed slowly across my line of vision”.