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Tips for Poets ~
Norse
Alliterative Poetry Workshop
I. Alliteration
2. Alliteration of vowels
Any (double) vowel alliterates with any other (double) vowel.
2.1 Vowel examples
The vowels a, e, i, o, u, y (when spoken as a vowel)
the umlauts ä, ö, ü resp. oe, ae, ue,
the double vowels ei, ai, oi, ui, ey, ay, oy, uy
... all these alliterate with themselves, and with each other.
No vowel alliterates with any consonant.
Example: always, Eyvind, idles, over, unseemly, elks -
all these words alliterate because their main beat syllables all start
with a (double) vowel.
Coincidentally, the main beat syllable of these words is also the first
syllable of the word.
2.2 Main beat syllable
Keep in mind that it is always the main beat syllable that alliterates,
which is not necessarily the first syllable.
Example:
"always" and "anger" alliterate.
But "always" also alliterates with "however", even though "however"
starts with an "h", because the main beat is on the "e", not the "h"-
how/e/ver.
Examples: Always, forever, disintegrate, ... these words alliterate.
Reverse example:
"always" does not alliterate with "elaborate", even though both words
start with a vowel, because the main beat syllabe of elaborate starts
with "l", a consonant - and vowels donīt alliterate with consonants.
2.3 Sound, not spelling
Keep in mind that it is the sound that matters, not the spelling.
Example: "Always" does not alliterate with "union", even though the
spelling of both main beat syllables starts with a vowel. But union is
pronounced "YOO-nion" - which starts with a consonant sound - and vowels
donīt alliterate with consonants.
2.4 Some side thoughts
I think one reason that all vowels are considered to alliterate with
each other is because everytime we speak a vowel that begins a stressed
syllable, our throat makes a discreet opening sound just before the
vowel itself starts to be sounded.
This opening sound, in Arabic even rated as an independent letter, is
always the same, no matter what vowel follows. So in reality we are
doing an alliteration of the opening sound.
You can hear this sound before the "i" when you say "ice" or
dis-illusioned, as apart from "nice" and "desire" where you canīt.
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