What is Alliteration?
Alliteration is when words in a sentence start with the same sound and create a rhythmic, musical flow. It's a fun and powerful poetic device that makes writing more memorable and engaging.
Take a look at these original examples:
Sandy seashells shimmer silently on the shore.
Peter's puppy pranced proudly past the playground.
Cold coffee can calm curious cats.
Pretty catchy, right?
To help you really get the feel of how alliteration works, we've put together 20 magical poems that use alliteration brilliantly. These poems aren't just fun to read — they're also your personal playground for spotting alliterative words.
Let's dive in and see how sound can turn simple lines into poetry!
1. "The Raven" – Edgar Allan Poe
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
"'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door—
Only this and nothing more."
2. "Peter Piper" – Mother Goose
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers;
A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked;
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?
3. "The Tyger" – William Blake
Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
4. "Jabberwocky" – Lewis Carroll
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
5. "The Fairies" – William Allingham
Up the airy mountain,
Down the rushy glen,
We daren't go a-hunting
For fear of little men.
Wee folk, good folk,
Trooping all together;
Green jacket, red cap,
And white owl's feather!
6. "The Walrus and the Carpenter" – Lewis Carroll
"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes—and ships—and sealing-wax—
Of cabbages—and kings—
And why the sea is boiling hot—
And whether pigs have wings."
7. "The Bells" – Edgar Allan Poe
Hear the sledges with the bells—
Silver bells!
What a world of merriment their melody foretells!
How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle,
In the icy air of night!
8. "The Splendor Falls" – Alfred, Lord Tennyson
The splendor falls on castle walls
And snowy summits old in story;
The long light shakes across the lakes,
And the wild cataract leaps in glory.
9. "The Panther" – Rainer Maria Rilke
His vision, from the constantly passing bars,
Has grown so weary that it cannot hold
Anything else. It seems to him there are
A thousand bars; and behind the bars, no world.
10. "The Eagle" – Alfred, Lord Tennyson
He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ringed with the azure world, he stands.
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.
🎵 Want to Create Your Own Alliterative Masterpiece?
Alliteration is one of the most fun and accessible poetic techniques to experiment with! Whether you want to create playful tongue twisters, haunting verses, or memorable lines that stick in the reader's mind, AI Poem Generator can help you craft sound-rich poetry with brilliant alliteration.
Simply choose your mood, enter your topic, and the AI will help you create verses that dance with repeated sounds. Perfect for school projects, creative writing, or just having fun with the musical quality of language. Alliteration makes poetry memorable — let your words sing with similar sounds!
11. "The Charge of the Light Brigade" – Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
12. "The Song of Wandering Aengus" – W.B. Yeats
I went out to the hazel wood,
Because a fire was in my head,
And cut and peeled a hazel wand,
And hooked a berry to a thread;
And when white moths were on the wing,
And moth-like stars were flickering out,
I dropped the berry in a stream
And caught a little silver trout.
13. "The Lake Isle of Innisfree" – W.B. Yeats
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.
14. "The Owl and the Pussy-Cat" – Edward Lear
The Owl and the Pussy-Cat went to sea
In a beautiful pea-green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
Wrapped up in a five-pound note.
15. "The Pied Piper of Hamelin" – Robert Browning
Rats!
They fought the dogs and killed the cats,
And bit the babies in the cradles,
And ate the cheeses out of the vats,
And licked the soup from the cooks' own ladles,
Split open the kegs of salted sprats,
Made nests inside men's Sunday hats,
And even spoiled the women's chats
By drowning their speaking
With shrieking and squeaking
In fifty different sharps and flats.
16. "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" – Samuel Taylor Coleridge
The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew,
The furrow followed free;
We were the first that ever burst
Into that silent sea.
17. "Kubla Khan" – Samuel Taylor Coleridge
In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.
18. "The Highwayman" – Alfred Noyes
The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees,
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor,
And the highwayman came riding—
Riding—riding—
The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door.
19. "Identity Card" – Mahmoud Darwish
Write down!
I am an Arab
And my identity card is number fifty thousand
I have eight children
And the ninth is coming after summer
Will you be angry?Write down!
I am an Arab
I work with comrades in a quarry
And my children are eight
I chip out a loaf of bread for them
From the rocks
20. "Under Siege" – Mahmoud Darwish
Here on the slopes of hills, facing the dusk and the cannon of time
Close to the gardens of broken shadows,
We do what prisoners do,
And what the jobless do:
We cultivate hope.A country preparing for dawn. We grow less intelligent
For we closely watch the hour of victory:
No night in our night lit up by the shelling,
Our enemies are watchful and light the light for us
In the darkness of cellars.
🎼 Why These Poems Matter
Alliteration isn't just a stylistic device — it enhances rhythm, mood, and memorability. From Poe's haunting repetitions to Carroll's playful wordplay, these poems prove how sound shapes meaning.
Alliteration can create:
- 🎵 Musical rhythm that makes poems flow
- 🧠 Memorable lines that stick in your mind
- 😊 Playful effects that bring joy to reading
- 🎭 Dramatic emphasis that heightens emotion
- 📚 Educational value for learning language patterns
💡 Try This: Read them aloud to savor their musicality!
Which alliterative poem tickled your tongue the most? Share your favorite sound combinations in the comments and let's celebrate the musical magic of repeated sounds! 🎵✨
Want to explore more sound-rich poetry? Check out our AI Poem Generator to create your own alliterative verses that will dance off the page!
