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Allegory
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
Chapter 20
Explanation and Analysis—Unnoticed and Unknown:
In the 20th chapter, as he recounts the travels and work he has done since leaving his family, George repeatedly employs alliteration. A central reason for failing as a Grub Street writer is that he was more committed to perfecting his minimal output than publishing a large quantity of work. He expresses this in a sentence that includes two instances of alliteration:
My little piece would therefore come forth in the mist of periodical publication, unnoticed and unknown.
This alliteration attests to George's writerly constitution. A common figure of speech in poetry and prose, alliteration adds to the rhythm of a sentence or line. His use of alliteration, in this otherwise poetic sentence, indicates that he has talents as a writer. Overall, George's story is composed in a clear and poetic way. However, these qualities do not immediately translate into success on Grub street. In fact, it was his devotion to quality over quantity that spelled out his failure.
A few sentences later, he proceeds to use more alliteration.
Sheet after sheet was thrown off to oblivion. My essays were buried among the essays upon liberty, eastern tales, and cures for the bite of a mad dog; while Philautos, Philalethes, Philelutheros, and Philanthropos, all wrote better, because they wrote faster, than I.
Although it may be tempting to wonder if these are the names of Ancient Greek philosophers, they are in fact the names of other, more successful, Grub Street hack writers. In Greek, "phila" means love. These names respectively mean Lover of Self, Lover of Truth, Lover of Freedom, and Lover of Mankind. George gives the writers these names to express that the other writers would always seize on a singular same argument in all of their pieces. This brought them success because it allowed them large and efficient output. George, on the other hand, always tried to come up with a unique argument in each of his pieces. Again, the instance of alliteration attests to his intelligence, as it shows that he knows Ancient Greek. Nevertheless, his intelligence did not win him success as a writer.
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