Alliteration and onomatopoeia
What is alliteration?
Alliteration is a series of words beginning with the same letter or sound.
Different repeated sounds can help create different moods depending on whether they are:
- soft sounds
- hard sounds
- short sounds
- long sounds
What is alliteration? How and why would you use it? Bitesize explains with examples from 'My Rival's House' by Liz Lochhead.
Examples of alliteration
- The gentle 'w' sounds in
whispering wind
create a soft and airy mood. - The harsh 'r' sounds in
raging river rapids
help the reader to imagine the brute force of the water.
Question
The snake silently slithers and slides by.
How does the above alliteration reveal the manner of the snake鈥檚 movements?
The repeated 鈥榮鈥 sound suggests slyness or sneakiness.
What is onomatopoeia?
Onomatopoeia is a word that sounds like what it describes. This can help bring an image or idea to life.
What is onomatopoeia? How and why would you use it? Bitesize explains with examples from 鈥業n the Snack Bar鈥 by Edwin Morgan.
Examples of onomatopoeia
The ringmaster cracked his whip.
The wordcrack
sounds similar to the action it is describing. It implies that the whip made a sharp sound.Stuttering rifles rapid rattle.
Thestuttering
imitates the action of a machine-gun being fired.
Question
The waves crashed against the boat.
How does the above example effectively use onomatopoeia to illustrate the impact of the wave?
The word crash
suggests a forceful and destructive collision.
This helps us hear the wave鈥檚 contact with the ship and the damage that might be caused.