Stylistic devices in German (also known as rhetorical devices) help make speeches, essays, etc. livelier and more interesting. In particular, they help hold the attention of the reader/listener. In this section, you will find some important stylistic devices, along with explanations and examples – useful for literary analyses, but also helpful when you are composing your own texts.
Alliteration – repetition of initial consonant sound
This refers to two or more words in a sentence that start with the same consonant sound. For maximum impact, these words appear next to each other. The repetition of the initial sound fixes the phrase in the reader’s mind, which helps emphasise the sentence.
Note: Repetition of initial consonant sounds means that only the sound must be the same, not the consonants themselves.
If two words in a row start with the same consonant but have a different initial sound, then it is not classed as alliteration.
