Alliteration is a phonetic stylistic device which aims at imparting a melodic

effect to the utterance. The essence of this device lies in the repetition of similar
sounds, in particular consonant sounds, in close succession, particularly at the
beginning of successive words:
"Deep into the darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before."
(E. A. Poe)
Alliteration, like most phonetic expressive means, does not bear any
lexical or other meaning unless we agree that a sound meaning exists as such. But
even so we may not be able to specify clearly the character of this meaning, and
the term will merely suggest that a certain amount of information is contained in
the repetition of sounds, as is the case with the repetition of lexical units.
Alliteration is generally regarded as a musical accompaniment of the author's
idea, supporting it with some emotional atmosphere which each reader interprets
for himself. Thus the repetition of the sound [d] in the lines quoted from Poe's
poem "The Raven" prompts the feeling of anxiety, fear, horror, anguish or all these
feelings simultaneously.
But when the choice of words depends primarily on the principle of
alliteration, exactitude of expression, and even sense may suffer. But when
used sparingly and with at least some slight inner connection with the sense of the
utterance, alliteration heightens the general aesthetic effect.
Alliteration in the English language is deeply rooted in the traditions of
English folklore. The laws of phonetic arrangement in Anglo-Saxon poetry
differed greatly from those of present-day English poetry. In Old English poetry
alliteration was one of the basic principles of verse and considered, along with
rhythm, to be its main characteristic. Each stressed meaningful word in a line had
to begin with the same sound or combination of sounds. Thus, in Beowulf:
Fyrst forD Zewát: flota waes on yDum,
bát under beorZe. Beornas Zearwe
on stefn stiZon: streamas wundon,

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sund wiD sande; secZas bæron
on bearm nacan beorhte frætwe...
The repetition of the in iti al sounds of the stressed words in the line, as it were,
integrates the utterance into a compositional unit. Unlike rhyme in modern
English verse, the semantic function of which is to chain one line to another,
alliteration in Old English verse was used to consolidate the sense within the line,
leaving the relation between the lines rather loose. But there really is an essential
resemblance structurally between alliteration and rhyme (by the repetition of
the same sound) and also functionally (by communicating a consolidating
effect). Alliteration is therefore sometimes called initial rhyme.
Old English poetry appears to be based upon one system of verse
construction, a system which remained remarkably consistent for centuries,
although some patterns of classical Old English verse begin to break down at the
end of the Old English period.
Alliteration is frequently used as a well-tested means not only in verse
but in emotive prose, in newspaper headlines, in the titles of books, in proverbs and
sayings, as, for example, in the following:
Tit for tat; blind as a bat, betwixt and between; It is neck or
nothing; to rob Peter to pay Paul; or in the titles of books: "Sense and
Sensibility" (Jane Austin); "Pride and Prejudice" (Jane Austin); "The School for
Scandal" (Sheridan); "A Book of Phrase and Fable" (Brewer).
One modern author who studied alliterative verse and used it extensively in
his fictional writings and poetry, was J. R. R. Tolkien (1892–1973). He wrote
alliterative verse in modern English, in the style of Old English alliterative verse
(he was one of the major Beowulf scholars of his time - see Beowulf: the monsters
and the critics). Examples of Tolkien's alliterative verses include those written by
him for the Rohirrim, a culture in The Lord of the Rings that borrowed many
aspects from Anglo-Saxon culture. There are also many examples of alliterative
verse in Tolkien's posthumously-published works in The History of Middle-earth
series.

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 Alliteration survives most obviously in modern English in magazine article
titles, advertisements and business names, comic strip or cartoon characters, and
common expressions:
1. Magazine articles: “Science has Spoiled my Supper”, “Too Much Talent in
Tennessee?”, and "Kurdish Control of Kirkuk Creates a Powder Keg in Iraq"
2. Comic/cartoon characters: Beetle Bailey, Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse,
Phineas and Ferb, and the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers.
3. Children's Books: Animalia by Graeme Base is a famous example of
alliteration within a storybook.
4. Shops: "Coffee Corner", "Sushi Station", "Best Buy".
5. Expressions: "busy as a bee", "dead as a doornail", "good as gold", "right as
rain", etc..
6. Music: CSNY's Helplessly Hoping, Franz Ferdinand, Blackalicious's
Alphabet Aerobics.
7. Names and pseudonyms: Ronald Reagan, Alex Adams, Rodney Rude,
Marilyn Monroe.
8. Sports Teams: Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Lakers, Jacksonville Jaguars,
New Jersey Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers, San Antonio Spurs, Pittsburgh
Pirates, Boston Bruins,
9. Dominic Deegan has also been known to do this from time to time.
Thus, alliteration is an indispensible part of English literature tradition still being
used and developed.

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Библиография:
1. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alliterative_verse

2. http://article.ranez.ru/id/111/

3. Гальперин Очерки по стилистике английского языка [Электронный

ресурс]/И.Р. Гальперин //
http://www.twirpx.com/files/languages/english/vocabulary/

4. Знаменская Т. А Стилистика английского языка. Основы курса

[Электронный ресурс] / Т.А. Знаменская, М.: Едиториал УРСС, 2004. - 208
с.