the noise of trees crashing to the ground. The most obvious alliteration is at the beginning of words, but there is also internal alliteration of the letter t: "The ash tree crashes and the tall fir is cut down,they overturn tall pines; every groveof the leafy forest was resounding with noise" To a greater extent than later poets, Ennius often uses the same alliteration throughout the line: "nor stay captured when captured, nor burn when set on fire" Another famous line of Ennius is the following: "O Titus Tatius, you yourself, o king, have brought such great (troubles) on yourself!" The following trochaic septenarius line is from his tragedy Alexander. The principal alliteration is M, but there is secondary alliteration of T, L, and R: "Mother, best woman by far of the best of women!" In the following hexameter, the primary alliteration with T is supported by a secondary medial alliteration of R to reinforce the idea of terror and trembling: "The rough land of Africa trembles with terrifying tumult." T and R are also used in the following often-quoted line. It was quoted with disapproval for its excessive alliteration in the Rhetorica ad Herennium 4.12, and some modern critics have called it "almost absurd" or "embarrassing". "but the trumpet with terrifying sound went 'taratantara!'" Another Ennius example, which Austin describes as "noble", is the following iambic octonarius. Here there is assonance between and at corresponding places in the two halves of the line, combined with alliteration of C, S, and minor alliteration of P and L: "O great temples of the heaven-dwellers, mixed with splendid stars." Pacuvius, a nephew of and pupil of Ennius, was famous as a writer of tragedies. Aulus Gellius quotes the following verses, calling them "very delightful". They are rich in alliteration of m, l, and n, and also assonance of ul repeated four times: "give me your foot, so that with yellow water I can wash off the browndust with these same hands with which I often bathed Ulysses,and lessen your tiredness with the softness of my hands" The comic playwright Plautus also has innumerable instances of alliteration, usually for comic effect: "He couldn't in a few words have said more in a plain way." "You with the axe, I'm putting you in charge of the wood-cutting province!" "Destroy the enemies, get praise and laurels, so that conquered by you the Carthaginians may suffer