Alliteration

In language, alliteration is the repetition of a particular sound in the prominent lifts (or stressed syllables) of a series of words or phrases. Alliteration has developed largely through poetry, in which it more narrowly refers to the repetition of a consonant in any syllables that, according to the poem's meter, are stressed, as in James Thomson's verse "Come…dragging the lazy languid Line along".

In Alliterative verse, the alliteration that is relevant to the metre is the lift of the half-line (a lift being a stressed syllable); the ironic example often given to illustrate this is that the word alliteration'' itself alliterates on the consonant L, not A (the a of alliteration being marked as a dip or unstressed syllable, hence non-alliterating) - thus, bold beauty is an alliterative formula, between beauties is not, etc.

Consonance (ex: As the wind will bend) is another 'phonetic agreement' akin to alliteration. Assonance is also often in said category (ex: she loves the thunder), though is more akin to true-rhyme than alliteration (assonance-rhyme being a main feature of Old Celtic verseforms). Alliteration may also include the use of different consonants with similar properties such as alliterating z with s, as does Tolkien in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, or as Anglo-Saxon (Old English) poets would alliterate hard/fricative g with soft g (the latter exemplified in some courses as the letter yogh - ȝ - pronounced like the y in yarrow or the j in Jotunheim); this is known as license. The concept is that the sounds are formed orally with exceptional similarity (which can be exampled simply by pronouncing the difference between z and s, or f and v likewise being acceptable as license in alliterative verse).

Alliteration is commonly used in many languages, especially in poetry. Alliterative verse was an important ingredient of poetry in Old English, Old Norse and Old Irish especially - as well as other old Germanic languages like Old High German, and Old Saxon. This custom extended to personal name giving, such as in Old English given names. This is evidenced by the unbroken series of 9th century kings of Wessex named Æthelwulf, Æthelbald, Æthelberht, and Æthelred. These were followed in the 10th century by their direct descendants Æthelstan and Æthelred II, who ruled as kings of England. The Anglo-Saxon saints Tancred, Torhtred and Tova provide a similar example, among siblings.