Pretty piranhas purchase purple pleather pants.

Hinky haikus are hard to hear.

What do those sentences have in common? They're alliterative; that is, a bunch of the words in each one start with the same lovely letter. This is a common literary technique in great works of literature throughout the ages… and in Barry Goldwater's nomination acceptance speech.

What's the point? Well, not only is it creative and attention-getting, it's also a way to emphasize certain subjects or arguments. Check it out:

We are plodding at a pace set by centralized planning, red tape, rules without responsibility, and regimentation without recourse. (30)

Looks like R's aren't just for pirates anymore.

Goldwater and his speech team seem to have been especially fond of alliterative verbs, telling the audience that a unified Atlantic civilization could "galvanize and guide" other nations, that the current Secretary of Defense is on a mission to "mislead and misinform" the American people, and that the Democrats are responsible for the billions who've been "cast into Communist captivity, their fates cynically sealed" (90, 70, 71). We love that last one.

Lots of lovely alliteration in this speech. But despite the deft discussion, Barry lost in an electoral landslide.