Student Essay on Whitman's Use of Alliteration in "Leaves of Grass"

Whitman's Use of Alliteration in "Leaves of Grass"

Summary:   The ways Walt Whitman uses alliteration in his classic poem, "Leaves of Grass."

Leaves of Grass

In Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass many poetic techniques are used to enhance his poems. Alliteration is used hundreds of times throughout Whitman's poems for multiple reasons. Webster's dictionary defines alliteration as the repetitive use of the same sound at the beginning of words or in emphasized syllables of words. Less frequently, Whitman uses alliteration unintentionally by mistake. It is seen numerous times throughout poetry for no apparent reason. When Whitman intentionally uses alliteration it amplifies his unique style which emphasizes repetition through alliteration, parallelism, assonance and refrain. Whitman uses alliteration the most to improve rhythm. He substitutes rhyme for alliteration, and this unique rhythm further adds to Whitman's style of writing. Whitman uses Alliteration by mistake through common diction, but most of all he uses it to further improve rhythm and create his distinctive style.

Whitman's uses repetition through various poetic techniques that shape his unique style. Alliteration shapes his poetic pottery by repeating constant sounds. In his poem "Song of Myself," Whitman proclaims "The smallest sprout shows there is really no death."(Whitman pg. 30) This statement relates the birth of grass to the advancement of life. The alliteration subtlety stands out, and adds character to Whitman's poetry. His diction in this quote is basic, but it is still meaningful. The metaphoric tone adds insightfulness stanza. Whitman's style encompasses alliteration and repetition to improve the quality of his poetry.

Alliteration is used unintentionally by writers, singers and actors constantly for no reason by the use of basic diction. In Whitman's poem "Song of Myself," he uses parallelism by starting each stanza with, "Or I guess..." He says in one stanza, "Or I guess the grass itself is a child..."(Whitman pg. 29) He uses alliteration unintentionally to speculate his metaphoric connection to grass being a child. This use of alliteration is not meant to improve the poems rhythm, or to emphasize his style, it is only Whitman expressing himself using English words to describe his thoughts. Alliteration can be found through many forms of arts and writing, but many times it is not there to serve any purpose or meaning.

Whitman tends not to use rhyming is his poems. Whitman substitutes rhyming for alliteration in his poetic recipe to give rhythm to his poems. In his poem "The Think of Time," he begins his poem "To think of time.... To think through the retrospection, to think of today.."(Whitman pg. 98) The recurrence of the constant sound allows the poem to start a constant flow. The alliteration propels the starting rhythm start an active circulation of rhythmic poetry. Without a rhythm, the poem be uneasy to read. Whitman needs alliteration to work as the rhythm and keep the poem flowing strong.

In Whitman's Leaves of Grass, alliteration serves multiple functions in maintaining poetic quality. He thoughtfully uses alliteration just as much as he mistakenly uses it.