"Literary Terms and Definitions"
Dr. L Kip Wheeler (2012)
ALLITERATIVE VERSE: A traditional form of Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse poetry in
which each line has at least four stressed syllables, and those stresses fall on syllables in
which three or four words alliterate (repeat the same consonant sound). Alliterative verse
largely died out in English within a few centuries of the Norman Conquest. The Normans
introduced continental conventions of poetry, including rhyme and octosyllabic couplets.
The last surge of alliterative poetry in the native English tradition is known as
the alliterative revival during the Middle English period. See alliteration, above.
Source URL: http://www.web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit_terms_A.html#alliterative_verse_anchor
Saylor URL: http://www.saylor.org/courses/engl201
©Dr. L. Kip Wheeler (http://www.web.cn.edu/kwheeler)
Used by Permission
Saylor.org
Page 1 of 1