As a device, alliteration is a pretty obvious one. Read a passage aloud (or even silently) and it will jump out at you.
It’s hard to miss a string of similar sounding words.
Alliteration can delight—but also irritate—the reader. It’s a delicate device that wears out its welcome pretty quickly.
That last sentence? I wrote it and even I’m rolling my eyes. But I’ll let it stand, because it proves the point. Too much alliteration (or alliteration in a context where it’s not appropriate) has a wearying effect.
Like other rhetorical devices, alliteration can lend an oratorical (good!) or singsong-y (bad!) effect to a piece of writing. I tend to remove alliteration from business writing, such as cover letters, although I may let small moments stand, especially if they feel natural, e.g. “project process.”
One thing to consider about alliteration: it can enhance the reader’s memory of your writing. Here’s a press release from the Association for Psychological Science about a recent study:
Previous studies have shown that alliteration can act as a better tool for memory than both imagery and meaning, however the reason for this has never been established. In their experiments the researchers demonstrate[d] that alliterations retrieve similar sounding words and phrases from a person’s memory, making it a useful tool for poetry comprehension and memorization.
So, like rhyme, alliteration is a useful tool if you’re trying to boost your reader’s memory of a piece.
Taylor Coe 