Which statement best defines alliteration and assonance?

• A. Alliteration repeats initial consonants; assonance repeats vowel sounds.
• B. Alliteration repeats vowel sounds; assonance repeats consonants.
• C. Alliteration uses rhymes; assonance uses repetition of words.
• D. Alliteration is repetition of syllables; assonance is repetition of phrases.

Answer: (A)

Sound patterns in nearby words create rhythm and emphasis. Alliteration happens when the same consonant sound starts several adjacent or closely spaced words, like Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, where the p sound leads the words. Assonance is when a repeated vowel sound occurs within nearby words, such as The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain, where the a and i vowel sounds recur.

So the statement that describes both correctly is: alliteration repeats initial consonants; assonance repeats vowel sounds. The other options mix up vowels and consonants, or refer to rhymes, repetitions of words, syllables, or phrases, which aren’t the defining features of these two devices.