Figurative Language - Alliterations

Alliteration is the repetition of a beginning sound to create a certain effect. They may
be vowel or consonant sounds. Alliterations appear on only a few words in a poem to
highlight or emphasize something.
Underline the alliterations. Finish the lines that have been left blank.
The alligator ate an apple and an avocado. The big brown bear bit a boy.
My name is Anna, I live in Ann Arbor, and eat apples.
My name is Ben, I live in Baltimore, and eat bananas.
My name is Carl, I live in
______________________________________.
My name is Diane, I live in
_____________________________________.
My name is Elmer, I live in
_____________________________________.

Underline the alliterations in these sentences.

The warm wind wafted across the
Slipping and sliding, I stumbled in the snow
window.
and slush.
The sun sizzled the swimmers skin. Many mysterious men mumbled messages.
The gallant goat gobbled gobs of garbage
I accidentally ate an awful apple.
greedily.
Beth borrowed Barrys books before
The rapidly rising river rushed rampantly.
biology.

Tongue twisters are alliterations. The same sounds are repeated in words that are so
similar that our tongues have a difficult time saying them separately.
Practice saying these aloud.
Sue sells sea shells by the sea
shore.

Rubber baby buggy bumpers.

Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear.

Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair.
Fuzzy Wuzzy wasnt very fuzzy
was he?

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
Wheres the peck of pickled peppers Peter
Piper picked?

Assonance - the repetition of vowel sounds in nearby words.

Try to light the fire.

fleet feet sweep by sleeping Greeks.

Hayden plays a lot.

Assonance is the repetition of a vowel sound within words.

Examples:

free and easy make the grade

Prose writers sometimes repeat vowel sounds to reinforce the meaning of the words. It also helps to create moods.
Here, the long o sounds mysterious.
Underline the assonance in each sentence.
Poetry is old, ancient, goes back far.
It is among the oldest of living things. So old it is that no man knows how and why the first poems came.
--Carl Sandburg, Early Moon

Edgar Allen Poe - The Bells

Hear the mellow wedding bells - Golden bells!
What a world of happiness their harmony foretells!
Through the balmy air of night
How they ring out their delight!
From the molten-golden notes,
And all in tune,
What a liquid ditty floats
To the turtle-dove that listens, while she gloats
On the moon!
Onomatopoeia
These are words which sound like the action they describe.
Common examples of onomatopoeia in animal sounds
Cat - meow, mew, purr
Cow - moo, low

Horse - whinny

Dog - bark, bow wow, woof

Pig - oink

Underline the words that show an Onomatopoeia.

The wipers on the bus go "Swish, swish, swish,
Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish"
The wipers on the bus go "Swish, swish, swish"
All day long.

An onomatopoetic sentence is a sentence like "the bee went buzzing by" or "ding dong the bells are going to
chime." The "sound words" make it an onomatopoetic sentence.
For breakfast he had a cereal that went "snap, crackle and pop" as he poured on the milk.
Match the item with the sound it makes!

Item

Sound

Turkeys

Soda pop

chug

pop-pop-pop

Popcorn popping

Hens

Baby robins

Rain drops

Water coming out of a jug

peep! peep!

splash-splash-splash

fizzle

garble

gobble