Tuesday, 8 December 2009

Prize quiz

Here.
Here now. Here.
Here is something I've just noticed, here, now.
If anyone at all is even reading this drivel, have you noticed the alliteration in that last post? Like when Seamus Heaney or someone said, "and spit the pips" in one of his poems.
My English teacher, who was a pretty good guy, and considered himself radical, in that he rarely washed, or changed his clothes, or shaved, or wrote poetry that didn't contain the c word, seemed to like alliteration.
We liked him because he was a poet, and he could swear for poetical effect. He didn't just use the F word because he had hit himself on the thumb with a hammer. When he used it, it was art.
As in, "So you can see there boys, how the poet is trying to convey the anguish of his loss by...Lucas! stop f***ing about at the back of the class there, and pay attention!"
"Sorry, sir."
But, anyway. The "spit the pips" thing. It is great alliteration, those spitty p sounds. As our teacher pointed out to us. As he put it, "I mean, listen to it, boys. The pips are practically coming out of his mouth like guided f***ing missiles!"
It is a great alliteration.
But.
Apparently, alliteration, technically, only refers to vowel sounds. I'm not sure if I am totally right about this, but I think there is a seperate word for consonants which have the same effect. For example, "an apple all appealling", would be an alliteration, whereas, "like a devil's sick of sin", there is a different term for that. I can't remember what the term is. Maybe I am mistaken, but if not, please remind me, because English was about the only useful subject I learned at school and I would like to know what that word is, for an alliteration of consonants.
A pickled pepper picked by Peter Piper goes to the winner.

No comments:

Post a Comment