A series of posts about poetry 101

Using Alliteration in Poetry

Hot Summer

Sitting on the sizzling sidewalk
I spy
the sailboat you once swayed in.
You surfed the spinning seas until
all the ocean churned to soap
And you?
became the salted secret that no summer could break.

by Michelle Moloney King

What is Alliteration?

The first sound in a series of words is the same, for example,
‘she sells sea shells.’ It can help to
set the mood of the poem.

What could be done, for example, write down some adjectives that are linked with summer.

Example – Hot Summer words that start with S
Sizzling, summer, sand, seat, sailboat, stereo,  sales,smoky,  saliva, store, sad, shark, salt, seaside, seasonal,
seaquake, surf, seahorse, secrets,sway,  seawater, spin, stars, soapy.

I picked the letter S as it sounds like a snake and they are found in hot countries. Even the amount of syllable s in a word can change a poem, if words have long syllables then that slows the poem, and gives it a sluggish feeling. Words made with short syllables are quick and fast.

So, not only is my poem an example of alliteration but it is also in free verse. Alliteration can be used in any type of  poem.