Alliteration

Harrison Hill

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Nov 12, 2012, 12:00:20 PM11/12/12

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Alliterate (my dictionary tells me) means "(Use words that) *begin*
with the same letter or sound". To me there is no (particular)
beginning or end in a sequence of words, so to me a poem like this
gets its beauty from "alliteration":

Flow down, cold rivulet, to the sea,
Thy tribute wave deliver:
No more by thee my steps shall be,
For ever and for ever.

Flow, softly flow, by lawn and lea,
A rivulet then a river:
No where by thee my steps shall be,
For ever and for ever.

But here will sigh thine alder tree,
And here thine aspen shiver;
And here by thee will hum the bee,
For ever and for ever.

A thousand suns will stream on thee,
A thousand moons will quiver;
But not by thee my steps shall be,
For ever and for ever.

Tennyson.

Guy Barry

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Nov 12, 2012, 12:23:45 PM11/12/12

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"Harrison Hill" wrote in message
news:8c355fd9-9ffc-41dc...@h16g2000vby.googlegroups.com...

> Alliterate (my dictionary tells me) means "(Use words that) *begin*
> with the same letter or sound". To me there is no (particular)
> beginning or end in a sequence of words, so to me a poem like this
> gets its beauty from "alliteration":

Can you explain what you mean? I can't see very much conventional
alliteration (apart from phrases like "lawn and lea").

--
Guy Barry

Jerry Friedman

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Nov 12, 2012, 12:49:38 PM11/12/12

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Consonant repetition in poetry is sometimes called "consonance", and
vowel repetition, "assonance" (when the repetitions don't qualify as
alliteration and rhyme).

One toke over the line, sweet Jesus,
One toke over the line.
Sittin' downtown in a railway station,
One toke over the line.
I'm waitin' for the train that goes home, sweet Mary,
Hopin' that the train is on time.
Sittin' downtown in a railway station,
One toke over the line.

--Brewer and Shipley

R H Draney

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Nov 12, 2012, 1:00:28 PM11/12/12

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Jerry Friedman filted:

>
>One toke over the line, sweet Jesus,
>One toke over the line.
>Sittin' downtown in a railway station,
>One toke over the line.
>I'm waitin' for the train that goes home, sweet Mary,
>Hopin' that the train is on time.
>Sittin' downtown in a railway station,
>One toke over the line.
>
>--Brewer and Shipley

I trust you're already aware of this performance?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye3ecDYxOkg

Note that the clip was posted to YouTube by Tom Shipley himself....r

--
Me? Sarcastic?
Yeah, right.

Mike L

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Nov 12, 2012, 5:22:41 PM11/12/12

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On 12 Nov 2012 10:00:28 -0800, R H Draney <dado...@spamcop.net>
wrote:

Thanks for the intro to those clips: I'd never heard of this Welk
before. Sheer delight. I think accordia would be almost tolerable if
it weren't for the players' obligatory gormless smiles.

--
Mike.

Dr Nick

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Nov 12, 2012, 5:32:30 PM11/12/12

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I was aware of him from a reference somewhere in Allan Sherman.

Guy Barry

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Nov 12, 2012, 10:19:01 PM11/12/12

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"Dr Nick" wrote in message news:87vcda4...@temporary-address.org.uk...

> Mike L <n...@yahoo.co.uk> writes:

> > Thanks for the intro to those clips: I'd never heard of this Welk
> > before. Sheer delight. I think accordia would be almost tolerable if
> > it weren't for the players' obligatory gormless smiles.

> I was aware of him from a reference somewhere in Allan Sherman.

Thanks for reminding me of that! One of the greatest song parodists ever in
my opinion. Here are the lyrics, based on George and Ira Gershwin's "Love
is Here to Stay". (It was the first time I'd ever come across Lawrence Welk
as well.) From:

http://www.mp3lyrics.org/a/allan-sherman/your-mothers-here-to-stay/

It's very clear: your mother's here to stay.
Not just a year, but ever and a day.
She came to stay just for Mother's Day,
With the kids and you and me,
And that was Mother's Day of 1953.
If it appears that I've become a grouch,
It's all these years of sleeping on the couch.
I hear Gibraltar just tumbled, the Rockies just crumbled,
I knew they'd go some day, but
Your mother's here to stay.

If she'd go back, if she'd just say goodbye,
I'd help her pack, and as she left, I'd cry.
She just complains, with her aches and pains,
And here arteries are hard.
How come she's out there playing leap frog in the yard?
Her evening snack would feed a herd of elk.
Then she sits back, and watches Lawrence Welk.
I'm taking you and the cherubs, and just like the Arabs,
We'll silently steal away, and
Leave Mother here to stay.

--
Guy Barry

Jerry Friedman

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Nov 13, 2012, 1:03:05 AM11/13/12

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I think I might have been aware of it, but I'd never watched it. The
music was perfect for them, and the harmony's great.

--
Jerry Friedman

Harrison Hill

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Nov 13, 2012, 3:11:19 AM11/13/12

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On 12 Nov, 17:49, Jerry Friedman <jerry_fried...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> On Nov 12, 10:00 am, Harrison Hill <harrisonhill2...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Consonant repetition in poetry is sometimes called "consonance", and
> vowel repetition, "assonance" (when the repetitions don't qualify as
> alliteration and rhyme).

"Consonance" and "assonance" I like. Thanks for that.