Alliteration, onomatopoeia and sound

Writers choose words for their sound as well as their meaning. Alliteration repeats first sounds (⟦big bears bake bread⟧), onomatopoeia sounds like the noise (⟦buzz⟧, ⟦crash⟧), sibilance repeats ⟦s⟧ sounds and assonance repeats vowel sounds.

Key facts

  • Alliteration: words close together start with the same sound: ⟦Fat frogs flip and flop.⟧ It makes a phrase memorable and fun to say.
  • Onomatopoeia: a word that sounds like the noise it describes: ⟦bang⟧, ⟦sizzle⟧, ⟦splash⟧, ⟦thud⟧, ⟦creak⟧, ⟦quack⟧.
  • Sibilance: repeated ⟦s⟧ and ⟦sh⟧ sounds, which can sound soft and calm or hissing and sinister: ⟦Mist passes slowly across the grass.⟧
  • Assonance: the same vowel sound repeated in words close together: ⟦The rain came late in May.⟧
  • Say what the sound does: it can create a mood (calm, tense, exciting), help you hear the scene, or make a line stick in your memory.

Worked examples

Example 1

Which device? ⟦The bacon sizzled in the pan.⟧

  1. ⟦sizzled⟧ sounds like bacon cooking.
  2. That is onomatopoeia.

Answer: onomatopoeia

Example 2

Which sound is repeated? ⟦Lazy lions lounge in the long grass.⟧

  1. ⟦Lazy⟧, ⟦lions⟧, ⟦lounge⟧, ⟦long⟧ all start with ⟦l⟧.
  2. It is alliteration with the ⟦l⟧ sound.

Answer: ⟦l⟧

Example 3

Which sound do you hear again and again? ⟦We each need a deep sleep.⟧

  1. ⟦we⟧, ⟦each⟧, ⟦need⟧, ⟦deep⟧, ⟦sleep⟧ all have the ⟦ee⟧ sound.
  2. A repeated vowel sound is assonance.

Answer: the ⟦ee⟧ vowel sound (assonance)