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GATE 2026 XH2 (English) – Question 29

Literary Forms, Genres, and Modes of Expression · Aesthetic and Rhetorical Strategies: Narrative and poetic techniques, and figures of speech · 1 mark · Multiple choice

What is the term for the repetition of initial consonant sounds in closely connected words?

  1. Assonance
  2. Consonance
  3. Alliteration
  4. Onomatopoeia

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Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: (C) Alliteration

Explanation

Alliteration is the repetition of the same consonant sound at the start of nearby words, as in "peter piper picked". Assonance repeats vowel sounds, consonance repeats consonant sounds within or at the end of words, and onomatopoeia is a word that imitates a sound.