Экзамен по стилистике Stylistics as a science and style as a main stylistic category

Alliteration is a phonetic stylistic device which aims at imparting a melodic effect to the utterance. The essence of this device lies in the repetition of similar sounds, in particular consonant sounds, in close succession, particularly at the beginning of successive words: " The possessive instinct never stands still (J. Galsworthy) or, "Deep into the darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before" (E. A. Poe).
Alliteration, like most phonetic expressive means, does not bear any lexical or other meaning unless we agree that a sound meaning exists as such. But even so we may not be able to specify clearly the character of this meaning, and the term will merely suggest that a certain amount of information is contained in the repetition of sounds, as is the case with the repetition of lexical units.
Ex. She was a good business woman and you had to get up early in the morning to best her in the bargain.
The roots of alliteration are very deep in the English language. To know that we have only to look at idiomatic expressions or title of books:
Pride and prejudice
Barking dogs seldom bite
Let sleeping dogs lie
Beauty lies in loveless eyes
All roads lead to Rome
A penny saved is a penny gained
Alliteration is widely used in folklore, in proverbs, sayings, traditional pairs of words. In English belles-lettres style it is regarded as an emphatic phonetic means that aims at producing a strong melodic and emotional effect.
Assonance is the repetition of the same or similar vowel in close succession: Ex.: Time and tide wait for no man.
Ex. For the moon never beans, without bringing me dreams of the beautiful Annabel Lee and the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes of the beautiful Annabel Lee.