Dead Poets Society: Alliteration 1 key example

This quotation details the moment the students learn about the Dead Poets Society from Mr. Keating. Considering how important the Dead Poets Society will become for the students, and the lengths they will go to form the society, the description that persuades them to restart the society is quite significant.

Mr. Keating's simile compares the act of reading poetry to the dripping of honey off of one's tongue. This connotes a sweet savoring of each word, painting a vivid picture that transforms reading poetry—an academic exercise students are forced to do in class—into a sweet and delightful treat. Reading poetry, if it is akin to tasting honey, also becomes sustenance-providing. The Thoreau quote that begins each Dead Poets Society meeting, which Mr. Keating also mentions to the students in this scene, similarly evokes consumption in urging the reader to “suck the marrow out of life." The figurative language gesturing at food and eating suggests that reading poetry is almost necessary for life, satiating and fueling those who read it.

The alliterative repetition of “s” sounds in “women swooned, spirits soared" emphasizes the pleasure of reading poetry with "spirits soared," as well as a specific facet of the Dead Poets Society that makes it appealing to teenage boys with "women swooned." The hissing “s” sound, aside from drawing attention to the female gender and the soaring of spirits, also has a sonically languid nature not unlike the dripping of honey. The alliteration then sonically mimics a honeyed tongue while also highlighting what made the Dead Poets Society so enjoyable for a young Mr. Keating, encouraging the students to follow suit.