To what purpose, April, do you return again? Beauty is not enough. You can no longer quiet me with the redness Of little leaves
opening stickily. I know what I know. The sun is hot on my neck as I observe The spikes of the crocus. The smell of the earth is good. It is apparent that there is no death But what does that signify? Not only underground are the brains of men Eaten by maggots. Life in itself Is nothing, An empty cup, a flight of uncarpeted stairs. It is not enough that yearly, down this hill, April Comes like an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers. Source: Millay, Edna St. Vincent. “Spring.” Second April. New York: J. J. Little and Ives Company, 1921. Poetry Foundation. Web. 05 May 2011. Which excerpt illustrates the use of alliteration in this poem? “To what purpose, April, do you return again?” “Not only underground are the brains of men/Eaten by maggots.” “You can no longer quiet me with the redness/Of little leaves opening stickily.” “Life in itself/Is nothing,/An empty cup, a flight of uncarpeted stairs.”
“Not only underground are the brains of men/Eaten by maggots.”
Explanation:
Alliteration is a stylistic resource that is defined by the similarity between the consonant sounds in the first syllable in many words of the same sentence. Thus, the sounds define the sentence as alliterate, not the repetition of the consonant. In this case, the repetition of "N" sounds with the different vocals combinations, define the answer as alliterate.
