Alliterative poetry

Definition

Alliterative poetry is a stylistic form of poetry in which consonantal sounds at the beginning of words are repeated in order to stress a specific sound in a particular phrase or line. Created for an oral culture, the earliest English poetry was alliterative, with a distinct metre that had two half lines, each containing two stresses, separated by a caesura, and where the first stress of the second half line alliterated with the stresses of the first half line.

The alliterative stresses ensured the rhythm of the poem, helping it to be easily remembered and recited. They could also be used to emphasize a particular mood or meaning within the context. Later poetry used alliteration as a more general device, to create mood and flow.

Origins

The Old English classic poem Beowulf is regarded as the oldest poem written in alliterative metre. This distinctive patterning was used in much Old English and Middle English verse, but had almost died out by 1500. Renaissance poets onwards escaped the tight confines of alliterative metre and employed alliteration with greater freedom.

Examples

Alliterative metre

• Piers Plowman (1385?) by William Langland (editor’s slashes indicate the division into half lines, bold the stressed alliteration)

Later use of alliteration

• Death be not proud (Holy Sonnet 10) (1609) by John Donne (1572-1631)

John Donne frequently uses alliteration within his poetry to emphasize a concept he is suggesting. Here he is personifying Death and belittling his power. By repeating the ‘d’ sound he subtly satirises Death’s apparent fearsomeness, whilst his alliteration of the soft ‘m’ of ‘Much’ and ‘much more must flow’ indicates the ease of Donne’s attitude towards dying.

• The Raven (1845) by Sir Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)

‘w’ alliteration to convey the tired nature of the poem’s speaker, followed by a repetition of ‘d’ which heightens the sense of jarring confusion regarding the persona’s thoughts.

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