Alliteration in poetry, the repetition of either consonants or vowels, is one of the main techniques employed to create a poem. In poetry a century back, alliteration was used much more. Contemporary poetry generally uses alliteration in a sparse way, only at select points. As a sound effect, it is used primarily for producing emotion or setting rhythm. To use alliteration successfully, make sure that your lines or poem do not solely depend on it. To ensure that alliteration is used properly, check if you have a balance of quantity and correct timing.
Balance of Quantity
The mood of a poem is the main factor that determines how much alliteration can be used. If for instance, you are writing a limerick, then alliteration can be placed as many times as you please. But if you are writing a serious poem, and you want your mood to be consistent, using alliteration sparsely is wise.
As an example, here is a limerick marked as anonymous:
A flea and a fly in a flue
Were caught, so what could they do?
Said the fly, "Let us flee."
"Let us fly," said the flea.
So they flew through a flaw in the flue.
But notice in this next excerpt from Watering the Horse by Robert Bly how alliteration is placed to emphasize the important parts of the poem:
How strange to think of giving up all ambition!
Suddenly I see with such clear eyes
the white flake of snow
that has just fallen on the horse's mane!
Like any ornamentation, alliteration can be used to a certain limit before the mood is disturbed. To find if your alliteration is changing your desired mood, read out loud your poem. If your alliteration becomes more like a slogan or a long string of sounds, check carefully if this is what will truly benefit the poem.
Correct Timing
As in the Robert Bly example, alliteration is best used as emphasis. If it is exercised as only a sound for sound, there is a good chance that it will not bring a strong response from the reader. With alliteration, you can combine entertainment and emphasis.
In the poem Ways of Day by Robert Penn Warren, sometimes alliteration is subtle or apparent, but he always uses it for a purpose:
Convulsive and cantankerous,
Night heaving, and burning, the star
Fell. What do I remember?
I heard the swamp owl, night-long, call.
The far car's headlights swept the room wall.
In the first line, with the repetition of the "c" sound, he expresses the feeling of disgust explicitly. But in the second line, the ringing of the "ing" sound in heaving and burning are more subtle and create a rhythm. In the fourth line, his alliteration is even more subtle with the sound play of owl and long. With the "o" sound, he shows the actual sound of the owl. And finally in the fifth line, the repetition of the sound "ar" with far and car's make the headlights seem even further away.
With a balance of quantity and correct timing of alliteration, your poems can become more poignant and entertaining. Instead of sound simply for sound, alliteration used as emphasis creates a stronger response from the reader. Knowing how to balance alliteration in your poetry will speed up your maturity as a poet.
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