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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
Alliteration
Explanation and Analysis—Vague Vibration:
Dickens uses alliteration to bring attention to the power of certain forces, such as when he introduces the train:
Just then there came a vague vibration in the earth and air, quickly changing into a violent pulsation, and an oncoming rush that caused me to start back, as though it had force to draw me down. When such vapour as rose to my height from this rapid train had passed me, and was skimming away over the landscape, I looked down again, and saw him refurling the flag he had shown while the train went by.
The repetition of /v/ sounds emphasizes the words "vague," "vibration," "violent," and "vapour." The alliteration intensifies Dickens’s initial characterization of the incoming train as a confusing, antagonistic, and powerfully disruptive force. Furthermore, the /v/ sound breaks through the sentence's sound similar to how the train and its vapor cut through the landscape. The train also disrupts the narrator's course of thought by interrupting his initial encounter with the signalman. Dickens also uses the sound to add to the aural experience of the passage, as the slight buzzing sound of "v" mirrors the vibration described. This memorable description cements the train's overpowering and ominous presence that haunts the rest of the story.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Frozen Finger:
Dickens uses alliteration to draw attention to particularly horror-inducing moments. One example is in his description of the narrator's fright before the narrator tries to explain away the supernatural occurrences:
Resisting the slow touch of a frozen finger tracing out my spine, I showed him how that this figure must be a deception of his sense of sight; and how that figures, originating in disease of the delicate nerves that minister to the functions of the eye, were known to have often troubled patients, some of whom had become conscious of the nature of their affliction, and had even proved it by experiments upon themselves.
In this passage, the repetitive /f/ sounds of the phrase “frozen finger” draw the reader’s attention to the frightening moment, where the chills down the narrator's spine become a tangible force. This passage also marks an important moment in which the narrator's instinctual fear fights against his desire to find a logical reason for the signalman's account. Thus, Dickens's alliteration does not just stop at highlighting this initial moment of fear, but continues into the narrator's explanation with more /f/ sounds as well as /d/ sounds. Dickens highlights words such as "deception," "disease," and "delicate," all of which call attention to the fact that, despite the narrator's fear, he firmly believes the ghosts are just a result of the signalman's altered mental or physical health.
Related Themes:
