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Literary Devices
Definition of Alliteration
Alliteration is a figure of speech in which the same sound repeats in a group of words, such as the “b” sound in: “Bob brought the box of bricks to... read full definition
Alliteration is a figure of speech in which the same sound repeats in a group of words, such as the “b” sound in: “Bob brought... read full definition
Alliteration is a figure of speech in which the same sound repeats in a group of words, such as the... read full definition
Act 1
Explanation and Analysis—Musical and Playful:
J. M. Synge often uses alliteration in The Playboy of the Western World to showcase the musicality of Irish English. A good example of this appears in Act 1 in an exchange between Christy and Pegeen:
CHRISTY. his feelings hurt.—That’s an unkindly thing to be saying to a poor orphaned traveller, has a prison behind him, and hanging before, and hell’s gap gaping below.
PEGEEN. with a sign to the men to be quiet.—You’re only saying it. You did nothing at all. A soft lad the like of you wouldn’t slit the windpipe of a screeching sow.
In this passage, Pegeen tries to guess what crime Christy has committed. Both characters speak alliterative sentences. Christy uses a few alliterative pairs of words, including "poor" and "prison," "hanging" and "hell," and "gap" and "gaping." Pegeen, on the other hand, uses many words that start with the /s/ sound, such as "soft," "slit," and "screeching sow."
Alliteration in this passage has two effects: first, it makes the exchange between Christy and Pegeen seem very playful and even fun, hinting at their future romance and showing that Pegeen has no idea about the gravity of Christy's crime. Second, it gives the conversation a sing-song quality that demonstrates the potential of Irish English to be pretty and even poetic. Synge wrote this play in part to showcase this dialect and to celebrate its dynamic capabilities—alliteration works to highlight its musicality.
Related Themes:
