Diary of a Mad Editor

Yesterday’s excursion into puns got me thinking about another literary device that’s been with us a long time: Alliteration.

Alliteration — commonly defined as a repetition of consonant or vowel sounds as in the following tongue-twister:

Fred Faraday fixed four furnaces for freezing Fanny Fredericks’, fitting four furnace filters on Friday.

As a poetic device it can often be much more sophisticated and subtle. Many famous examples of alliteration in poetry include William Langdon’s "Piers Plowman", Shakespeare Sonnets, Poe’s "The Raven", John Keats "Ode to a Grecian Urn" and T.S. Eliot’s “Journey of the Magi” to name just some of the many instances alliteration has appeared in literature.

It’s hard to say exactly how long alliteration’s been around. The word itself and its definition first appeared in the mid-1600’s, but, as a literary device, it’s been around much longer. The use of alliteration spans many countries and cultures, most prominently in the Germanic tribes of old England and surrounding areas. One of the earliest examples of alliterative poetry in the English language is a love song from the late 11th century, included in the famous Harlian Manuscripts in the British Museum:

 

Blow northerne wynd,
Sent thou me my suetynge;
Blow northerne wynd,
Blou, blou, blou.
Ich-ot a burde in boure bryht
That fully semly is on syht,
Menskful maiden of iuyht,
Feir ant fre to fonde.
In al this wurhliche won,
A burde of blod and of bon,
Never zete" y nuster non
Lussomore in Londe. Blow, fyc.
With lokkes lefliche* and longe,
With front ant face feir to fonde;
With murthes monie mote heo monge
That brid so breme in boure;
With lossum eie grete and gode,
Weth browen blysfol underhode,
He that rest him on the rode
That leflych lyf ho-ioure. Blau,’ fyc.
Hire lure lumes liht,
Ase a launterne a nyht,
Hyre bleou blynkyeth so bryht
So feyr heo is ant fyn,
A suetly suyre heo hath to holde,
With armes, shuldre ase mon wolde,
Ant fyngres feyre forte folde:.
God wolde hue were myn.
Middel heo hath menskful smal,
Hire loveliche chere as cristal;
Theyes, legges, fet, and al,
Ywraught wes of the beste;
A lussum ledy lasteles,
That sweting is and ever wes;
A betere burde never nes
Yheryed with the heste,
Heo ys dere-worthe in day,
Graciouse, stout, and gaye,
Gentil, jolyf, so the jay,
Worhliche when she waketh,
Maiden murgestw of mouth
Bi est, bi west, bi north, bi south,
Ther nis ficle ne crouth,
That such murthes maketh.
Heo is corall of godnesse,
Heo is rubie of ryht fulnesse,
Heo is cristal of clairnesse,
Ant baner of bealte,
Heo is lilie of largesse,
Heo is paruenke of prouesse,
Heo is solsecle of suetnesse,
Ant ledy of lealte,
To lou that leflich ys in londe
Ytolde as hi as ych understonde, &c.

As you can see, it’s written in Old English and, therefore, is not entirely comprehensible to the uneducated reader, but you can clearly see the use of alliteration in it even if you cannot understand some of the words. Beowulf, which also uses alliteration and is also written in Old English is probably much older as it’s exact date of creation cannot be determined and could have been written as early as the 8th century.