Which figure of speech is the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginnings of nearby words?

• A. Alliteration
• B. Metaphor
• C. Anaphora
• D. Parallelism

Answer: (A)

Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginnings of nearby words. This creates a musical, catchy effect and helps tie words together in a phrase or line. For example, in a phrase like “sneaky snakes slither softly,” the initial s sounds repeat, which is alliteration. It’s about those initial consonant sounds, not the meanings of the words. This differs from metaphor (a direct comparison between two unlike things), anaphora (repeating a word or phrase at the start of successive clauses), or parallelism (matching grammatical structures). So, when the question points to repeating consonant sounds at the starts of nearby words, alliteration is the best fit.