Monday, 6 January 2014

What is an example of alliteration in Book V of The Odyssey, translated by Robert Fagles?

In Book V, Athena attempts to influence Zeus on Odysseus's behalf because she feels sympathetic toward Odysseus and his family.  Odysseus has been kept for seven years by the nymph, Calypso, and though he badly wants to return home, she will not let him leave.  Athena argues that Odysseus needs a great deal of help because he no longer has a "crew to ply the oars / and send him scudding over the sea's broad...

In Book V, Athena attempts to influence Zeus on Odysseus's behalf because she feels sympathetic toward Odysseus and his family.  Odysseus has been kept for seven years by the nymph, Calypso, and though he badly wants to return home, she will not let him leave.  Athena argues that Odysseus needs a great deal of help because he no longer has a "crew to ply the oars / and send him scudding over the sea's broad back."  Alliteration is the repetition of an initial consonant sound, and the words send, scudding, and sea all begin with the "s" sound; therefore, the line that contains these words contains an example of alliteration.  This particular repetition seems appropriate, given the subject matter of the line -- water -- because the "s" sound can be used to replicate the sound of moving water: many words that describe wet things begin with "s" -- slurp, spurt, slippery, slushy, and so forth (these are known as phonetic intensives).  The repetition of the initial "b" sound in the words broad and back also qualifies as alliteration.  Thus, the line actually contains two examples of this poetic device.

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