Ardent Alliterations

"Lenina remembered her first shock of fear and surprise; her speculations through half a wakeful hour; and then, under the influence of those endless repetitions, the gradual soothing of her mind, the soothing, the smoothing, the stealthy creeping of sleep...." Brave New World (p. 74)

As we all remember from our days of AP Lang, alliterations are a repetition of the same or similar consonant sound in words that are close together.  Reading this passage, I was reminded the dreaded Analysis essay, and how (at the beginning of the year) I could never follow Mrs. Sander's train of thought.

Now, I can see how an alliteration demonstrates how the author conveys his message to the reader.  The "s" words create a kind of hissing noise in the mind of the reader.  This harsh sound conveys the author's disapproval of new, "breakthrough" technology such as playing recorded, repeating messages over and over while a child sleeps.  

The harsh alliteration is also paired with negative diction such as "creeping" and "endless."  These words also show disapproval toward technology of the day.  "Creeping" is followed by something that is meant to be peaceful - sleep.  These words are juxtaposed to represent how simple, everyday actions can be contaminated by new technology.         

Thank you Mrs. Sander.

Even though this video has nothing to do with the passage (actually quite the opposite), here is a famous example of an alliteration.  You can't beat Louis!