Read these lines from Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven."

Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter, In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore;

Which sentence best explains how Poe creates a light and comical tone by using alliteration?

A.

The repetition of words beginning with fl tell the reader these lines are intended to be funny.

B.

The words beginning with s are associated with happy situations and relax the reader.

C.

The repeated fl sounds are soft and fun and evoke a lighthearted feeling.

D.

The repeated s sounds tickle readers' tongues and make them laugh.

The correct answer is C. The repeated fl sounds are soft and fun and evoke a lighthearted feeling.

Explanation:

Alliteration is a literary device that consists of the repetition of similar sound and/or words. In the case of the excerpt from the poem "The Raven" by the American writer Edgar Allan Poe alliteration occurs as words beginning by "Fl" are repeated "flung", "flirt" and "flutter", this repetition give some rhythm to the poem and as the sound of "Fl" is mainly a soft sound it creates almost a cheerful atmosphere and creates in the reader a lighthearted feeling that contrast to the spooky atmosphere of the rest of the poem. Thus, alliteration in the case of repeated fl sounds evokes a lighthearted feeling because fl sound is mainly a soft sound and the rhythm the sound provides seems cheerful.