How to Write an Alliteration Poem

Writing Alliteration Poems

A fun and easy kind of poem to write is what I call an “alliteration poem.” Alliteration is when you repeat the beginning consonant sounds of words, such as “big blue baseball bat” or “round red robin.”

Writing alliteration poems is a terrific creativity exercise. Not only is it an easy way to write a poem, it’s a great way to get your brains working. You’ll need to think of a lot of alliterative words, and then form them into rhyming sentences.

Writing an Alliteration Poem in Five Easy Steps

Step 1: To write an alliteration poem, first pick a consonant. It can be any letter of the alphabet except for the vowels a, e, i, o, or u. For example, let’s say you choose the letter “B.”

Step 2: Think of as many words as you can that start with your letter and write them down. You’re going to need nouns, verbs, and adjectives, like this:

Nouns

  • Banana
  • Bee
  • Bat
  • Baseball
  • Boat

Verbs

  • Buy
  • Be
  • Bust
  • Beat

Adjectives

  • Black
  • Bad
  • Big
  • Brilliant
  • Broken

You may not use all of the words from your lists, and you may think of other words as you begin writing. That’s okay; this list is really just to help you get started.

Step 3: Form a sentence or two with some of your words, like this:

I bought a black banana,
And a broken baseball bat.

Step 4: See if you can add another sentence or two and a rhyme.

I bought a black banana,
And a broken baseball bat.
A burst balloon, a busted boat,
A beat-up bowler hat.

Step 5: Finally, see if you can come up with a reason for all of these things as a way to end your poems. Here’s what I thought of.

I bought a black banana,
And a broken baseball bat.
A burst balloon, a busted boat,
A beat-up bowler hat.

I wasn’t being brainy, bright,
or brilliant, but you see,
My brain was boggled after
Being bitten by a bee.

Here’s another example of an alliteration poem I wrote using the letter “Z.”

Zzzzz

I see zebras from Zimbabwe
zipping all around the zoo.
I see Zeus up in the zodiac,
a zillion zithers too.

There are zephyrs blowing zeppelins
that are zooming near and far.
There are zealots counting zeroes
in a zone near Zanzibar.

There are Zulus wearing zoot suits
eating zwieback and zucchini
plus a zombie with a zipper
on his zinnia bikini.

Yes, I always have the zaniest
most zonked-out dreams like these,
because every time I go to sleep
I try to catch some Z’s.

— Kenn Nesbitt

From the book The Aliens Have Landed at Our School!

Now it’s your turn. Pick a letter and see if you can create your own alliteration poem using as many words as you can starting with that letter. Good luck and have fun!

Kenn Nesbitt
Follow Kenn
Latest posts by Kenn Nesbitt (see all)