Blatantly blogging. . .
Hamilton, Essential Literary Terms (198-225) -- Jerz: EL150 (Intro to Literary Study)
"Alliteration, the repetition of sounds in nearby words or stressed syllables, is frequent in both poetry and prose."
To me, there is no more powerful a writing technique than an alliteration. Hands down, it is directly to the point and catches the readers attention. I also like them because they are easy to use, easy to find, but may be some of the most complex parts of writing.
Hamilton uses an example alliteration from a Midsummer Night's Dream. In it, Shakespeare alliterates thread with thrum, and also quail, crush, conclude and quell. He turned a normal outcry to the Fates into something much more powerful. With every hard "c" sound, it feels as if the character is forcing out every word.