Sounding the Alarm with Alliteration

Alliteration can be a powerful tool for a writer or speaker. The emphasis of specific sounds produces an almost psychic effect that hypnotizes and entrances the mind. The trance breaks only when the alliteration does. Amanda D’s post expands on this idea with the article she found about alliteration’s psychology.

Ulysses is kinda a jerk.

Ulysses’ call to arms acts like an alliterative slap in the face. Soldiers within earshot are caught in Ulysses’ careful webbing of words and are almost forced to run to the front lines. In two phrases Ulysses uses six words that begin with ‘s’: “…one man must be supreme—one king to whom the scheming son of Saturn has given the scepter of sovereignty over you all” (lines 204-206). The Argive captain’s rebuke stings. He artfully and powerfully emphasizes the common nature of the soldiers and their tendency to be followers, not leaders.

Amanda D also highlights Ulysses’ awareness of his audience, but I would argue Ulysses was observing different levels of decorum. Audience is a large factor in this, but so are the social norms and expectations of the Greek army. When speaking with the kings and chieftains, Ulysses addresses them almost as social equals, given their positions in the army. He invokes “we” in the literal sense (line 195). But when speaking with the common soldier, Ulysses uses “we” in a more metaphorical sense: “we cannot all be kings” (line 202-203). Ulysses’ tone indicates that though he may not be a king, he is still the soldiers’ superior. Thus, the style change exemplifies the hierarchal nature of the army (more here) Ulysses can speak literally with those of his own class, but cannot with those below him. Even in crisis, the “noble son of Laertes” observes decorum (line 172).

Artful Alliteration and Permeating Persuasion

 As someone who has for love of memorable, well-worded phrases,  I was rather impressed by The Iliad. 

This poem was originally passed down orally. This of course meant that there was variation in each storyteller's version, but I'd be willing to bet that there were some phrases that made an appearance in most "editions", if you will--especially alliterative phrases, including the examples below:

"cunning counsel" (line 56)

"face and figure" (line 58)

"mighty multitude" (line 90)

"wide-watered" (line 91)

"down she darted" (lines 166-67)

"wont to wrangle" (line 221)

"shrill, squeaky" (line 221)

"bawling and brawling" (line 224)

In a study you can find here, researchers  conducted an experiment in which various poems and works of prose were read to participants. Some of the poems were peppered with alliteration and some had no alliteration at all. Later, the participants were asked to recall the thematic elements as well as the content of the poems they had heard. Overwhelmingly, the data indicated that literature with alliterative phrases were much more memorable to the participants.

Now, I'm not saying that Homer had a side interest in human psychology. However, I wouldn't be surprised if he too knew that alliteration made many messages more memorable. These alliterative phrases would definitely make memorizing the epic easier, as well as provide some continuity even as the story changed over time.

On another note, the artful rhetoric portrayed in Ulysses's argument is worth noting. Ulysses is going around the ship, trying to convince the men to stay and try and take Troy.

 

No, not that Troy. Getcha head in the game!

There's a stark contrast between how Ulysses speaks to the kings vs. the common man. When speaking to the kings and chieftains, Ulysses tries to appeal to their better judgement, convince them that the opportunity to leave is just a test from Agamemnom, and show them that they need to stay and fight in order to avoid Agamemnom's displeasure. However, when speaking to any common soldier, Ulysses smacks them with his staff and talks down to them, trying to put them in their place. Ulysses is very much aware of his audience, and adjusts his tone and message accordingly.

Warm Arizona Sun

The roosters “cock a doodle doo” to wake the local neighborhoods up so they can enjoy their warm day. (Onomatopoeia). The blazing hot sun flexes it’s powerful rays upon the dry, scorching desert. (Personification). It is like the whiff of warm air that people feel as if they have just opened up the oven after baking delicious cookies. (Simile). Whether it’s 10 in the morning or 10  at night, the heat radiates freely. (Contrarium). It is an incredible blessing to be able to escape the cold, bitter winters of Utah and enjoy the warm Arizona soil. (Comparison). The salty sweat slides off of the foreheads of the population as they don’t have to worry about bundling up for cold weather. (alliteration). Oh the joy one feels as their seasonal depression escapes them! (Exclamatio). Should I take advantage and go for a nice swim in November? Obviously. (Anthypophora). What an enormous blessing it is to have a tiny bit of sunlight. (Antithesis). Sometimes I wonder if spending my holidays in Phoenix would be a smart use of my time. Then, I quickly repent and realize the clear answer as I arrive and I feel my energy levels replenish. (Correctio). 

"Figurative Language about Down-Time"

Metaphor

-“Down-time can be the cooling salve to a burning mind.”

-This makes a comparison to something dissimilar to how one spends time, but shows the positive effects of it.

Paronomasia

-“I’m not talking about down-‘thyme’, which the ancient Greeks burnt as incense for a source of courage.

-Thyme and time sound the same, but have completely separate usages.

Anthimeria

-“Last week I jiu-jitsued my friend during some down-time.”

-Jiu jitsu is a form of martial arts, actually a noun.  Using it as a verb helps the audience visualize it more as an action.

Hyperbole

- “A few moments of down-time makes a world of difference.”

- Those few moments do not necessarily have an impact on the current state of things in the world, but an individual’s perception of the world may change with a moment of down-time.

Oxymoron

-“Structured down-time can be much more refreshing than a moment of laziness.”

-Generally people would think of down-time and structured time as two separate things; be unproductive during one and be very productive in the other.

Parallelism

-“Whether it be coloring, playing the piano, going for a jog, or just reading a book, these forms of down-time bring peace and balance to the soul.”

-These activities can easily form a list of things to do for down-time.

Anastrophe

-“With a busy schedule, discouraged you may become.”

-Yoda would agree that with this arrangement, emphasis is placed on the result or consequences of having too busy of a schedule.

Ellipsis

-“Down-time not only brings rest to the mind and body, but peace as well.”

-It is implied that down-time also brings peace to the mind and body.

Alliteration

-“Being too busy can break the mind and body, but down-time develops dreams.”

-This sentence is separated into two parts and ideas by the use of two alliteration structures.

Figurative Language About Words

Tropes about Words:

1.       Metaphor

·         “Words are the nails we use to hammer our beliefs, opinions, biases, and expressions in place.”

·         Words are not literally tools, but they are the means we use to communicate and solidify our individual thought processes and our means of sharing them with others.

2.       Paronomasia

·         “’What do you say we go get some ice cream?’

‘Word.’”

·         This example of dialogue is quite literally a play on words in that the word, “word,” is used in place of a word that would mean agreement or used to affirm.

3.       Anthimeria

·         “He worded the silent classroom with sound.”

·         This one was kind of tricky to come up with an example for because it takes on so many forms (word, words, wordy, worded). But, just because now it is acceptable to use it in all these different ways doesn’t mean it always was. I’m sure this is a result of application by the masses. Instead of simply saying "he talked in the silent classroom," he added words to the silence. 

4.       Hyperbole

·         “That is literally the worst thing I have ever heard!”

·         Is it literally the worst? Only until someone tells you the next unbelievably wretched thing. Sometimes we use clearly defined words incorrectly as a means of exaggeration or making a point.

5.       Oxymoron

·         “Her words rolled easily off her tongue and beat mercilessly in the ear.”

·         “Rolled” and “beat” describe two very different forms in which words can take. By using them both in that sentence, it shows how subjective they really are. To the speaker they may roll and flow easily while for the hearer those same words feel like they are cramming into the ear and beating the ear like a drum.

Schemes about Words:

1.       Parallelism

·         “Effective word usage is a skill to be mastered and an art to be perfected.”

·         The parallel parts are “skill to be mastered” and “art to be perfected.”

2.       Anastrophe

·         “A word he spat out without having a clear understanding and purpose.”

·         This is an example simply because it goes against the expected word order. I know that even typing it I wanted to say, “He spat out a word without having a clear understanding or purpose.” I think this use of anastrophe evokes more curiosity. Why did he rush and say something? Was he nervous, mad, or put on the spot? Was the word bad or good and simply used incorrectly? We may never know.

3.       Ellipses

·         “The mother used her words carefully and the daughter did not.”

·         This insinuates that within this conversation, the mother was careful in what she said and the daughter reacted and possibly said things she did not mean. Even though it was not stated so blatantly, it can be assumed that “did not” means the daughter did the opposite.

4.       Alliteration

·         “What was the woman’s name whose words, though whispered, were wonderfully inspirational?”

·         The “w” sound is repeated throughout the question representing alliteration. 

Figurative Language: Trix are for kids!

Tropes about Trix:

1. metaphor
• "The only adult that would eat Trix would be acting as a child and not as an adult."
• This compares the actions of an adult with that of a child.  It then makes it seem childish to eat Trix.
2. paronomasia
• "Many adults go through a middle-aged crisis in which they try to trick themselves into feeling younger, but are Trix really the answer?"
• This uses the words trick and Trix which sound alike but differ in meaning to make to the reader ponder about the similarities in the two words.  Are Trix really a trick?
3. anthimeria

• "It wouldn't be very professional to see an adult trixing on his work break."
• This is anthimeria because I changed the noun Trix into a verb "trixing".  This makes the reader feel that there may be more to this topic (not just a noun but a verb also) and makes the reading more light and interesting.
4. hyperbole
• "A doctor would never encourage the elderly to eat Trix."
• The use of never is an exaggeration and using it discretely as done in this sentence makes the reader believe it is a fact and not an exaggeration.
5. oxymoron

• "Growing up and out of Trix is a bittersweet experience."
• The word bittersweet is an oxymoron because bitter and sweet are opposing terms.  Used in this way they know that it can be a good and bad thing.

Schemes about Trix:

1. parallelism
• "Trix are to adults as a full-time jobs are to children.  It just doesn't make sense."
• This is parallelism because the phrase "Trix are to adults" and "full-time jobs are to children" are built up by the same parts of speech.  This helps the reader to make connections between the two in a deeper way than just seeing the simile.
2. anastrophe
• "Silly it would be for an adult to eat Trix."
• This takes the adverb silly and moves it to the front of the phrase when normally it would be "It would be silly..."  This makes it sound new and almost more knowledgeable.
3. ellipsis
• "If you are elderly you should avoid Trix at all costs and if you are a bunny even more so."
• This is ellipsis because it doesn't specifically say what a bunny should do "even more so" but it alludes to it since it was stated in the previous clause.  This makes the reader come to his own conclusion and agree with the writer.
4. alliteration
• "Sugar cereals sicken senior citizens severely."
• The repeated "s" sound makes this alliteration fun and the reader enjoys it.

Figurative Language about Sandwiches

Tropes:

1. Metaphor
• "The cutting of a sandwich is the whipped cream on a cup of hot cocoa."
• I actually used an extended version of this metaphor in my original blog post about sandwiches. I said that a cut sandwich is better than a normal sandwich in the same way that whipped cream makes a cup of hot chocolate better. Obviously the action of cutting a sandwich is not the same as a physical dollop of whipped cream.
2. Paranomasia
• "Wouldn't you love to meet and squeeze the perfectly cut meat and cheese?"
• "Meet and squeeze" sounds a lot like "meat and cheese" but they do not mean the same thing since "meat and cheese" is referring to a sandwich while "meet and squeeze" is referring to a reaction you might have when being introduced to someone you really admire.
3. Anthimeria
• "I sandwiched the peanut butter and jelly together between two slices of bread."
• This is actually a kind of common anthimeria. People often use the noun "sandwich" as a verb to mean putting things together between two similar objects. The word use creates a type of imagery for the reader.
4. Hyperbole
• "Whether or not you cut your sandwich in half will determine the fate of the entire universe!"
• Obviously the way you eat your sandwich will not alter an significant events for the entire universe, but the exaggeration makes the decision seem much more consequential than it actually is.
5. Oxymoron
• "To make the sandwich experience whole, half it."
• "Whole" and "half" are opposites, but it seems paradoxical because it almost makes sense in this context.

Schemes

1. Parallelism
• "To make a proper sandwich you have to spread the peanut butter, apply the jelly, and cut the sandwich."
• The list of tasks exhibits parallelism in the form of [verb] the [noun], and allows the list to flow better than it would otherwise.
2. Anastrophe
• "Delicious is a sandwich when properly made."
• Usually this would be said "A properly made sandwich is delicious" but this phrasing draws emphasis on the last part of the sentence; or that the sandwich must be properly made to be delicious.
3. Ellipsis
• "A sandwich that is cut is simply better than one that is not."
• It is implied that the word "cut" follows the word "not" because of the way the sentence is framed so the word "cut" can be omitted as an ellipsis.
4. Alliteration
• "Some students still seem squeamish to start slicing their sandwiches."
• Since almost every word starts with the letter S, this sentence is an example of an alliteration.

I am a little sick of writing about sandwiches at this point; but hopefully you aren't too sick of reading about them to comment with your opinions on my figures of speech!

Figurative Language about Men vs. Women

Check out my previous blog post on Men vs. Women

Tropes

 Metaphor

·      Men and women are salt and sugar.

·      This is an example of metaphor because I am comparing men and women to salt and sugar by saying  The effect is that salt and sugar seem very similar but are, in actuality, extremely different and used for different purposes.

that they are salt and sugar.

Paronomasia

·      Sometimes, I feel like the definition of women needs “a-men-dment.”

·      This is a paronomasia because I take the word amendment which means to change something to make it better, but it also contains the word men, which indicates that men have something to do with the definition of women or that women just become a part of man.

Anthimeria

·      Girls can flip back their long, shiny hair and women their way into persuading every man to do whatever they want.

·      This is an example of anthimeria because I use women, a noun, as a verb.  The effect is that women become verbs, possessing certain common actions, such as persuasion of men just through their beauty.

Hyperbole

·      Figuring out what women want is more difficult than crossing the Sahara dessert with no water while carrying a camel on your back.

·      This is a hyperbole because the wants of women are not actually as strenuous and impossible as suffering in the Sahara desert.  The effect is that people realize that understanding women is difficult to do.

Oxymoron

·      Some men might believe that grand gestures will woo women, but in reality it is the big little things that they do every day.

·      This is an example of an oxymoron because big and little are opposites and adjacent to each other.  The effect is that little things that men do for women like complimenting them or walking with them are actually important and big.

Schemes

 Parallelism

·      Men are simple, strong, reserved, and hunky, but women are complex, catty, bold, and beautiful.

·      This is an example of parallelism because the lists are all adjective, making a parallel structure.  Also the clauses are parallel as they are both independent and go ______ is ____, ____, ____, and ____.  Furthermore, the words in the lists describe the same type of character traits or looks but are different for men and women, furthering parallelism.  Parallelism here highlights the differences between men and women.

Anastrophe

·      Understand women, never men will.

·      This is an example of anastrophe because the normal sentence order should go, You will never understand women.  The sentence structure is changed.  The effect is that "understand women" becomes the most important part of the sentence, not the subject, men.

Ellipsis

·      Men have complex thoughts; women, more complex.

·      This is an example of an ellipsis because what is left out is that women have more complex thoughts than men.  However, one can easily figure out what the sentence means.  The effect is that the sentence is more concise and to the point.  You can see better the varying degrees between men and women.

Alliteration

·      Most men make messes.  Woman won't want woeful wrongdoers who wreck.

·      This is alliteration because the first sentence uses all "ms" as the first letter; the second sentence, "ws."  This highlights again the difference between men and women through the differences in first letters.  It is also interesting to not that Ms and Ws are simply switched symbols, making men and women opposites.

As I was making up these tropes and schemes, I noticed that what I wrote I didn’t really believe but it still seems pretty convincing to me.  I think the figures of speech help convince people.