In Book V, Athena attempts to influence Zeus on Odysseus's behalf because she feels sympathetic toward Odysseus and his family. Odysseus has been kept for seven years by the nymph, Calypso, and though he badly wants to return home, she will not let him leave. Athena argues that Odysseus needs a great deal of help because he no longer has a "crew to ply the oars / and send him scudding over the sea's broad back." Alliteration is the repetition of an initial consonant sound, and the words send, scudding, and sea all begin with the "s" sound; therefore, the line that contains these words contains an example of alliteration. This particular repetition seems appropriate, given the subject matter of the line -- water -- because the "s" sound can be used to replicate the sound of moving water: many words that describe wet things begin with "s" -- slurp, spurt, slippery, slushy, and so forth (these are known as phonetic intensives). The repetition of the initial "b" sound in the words broad and back also qualifies as alliteration. Thus, the line actually contains two examples of this poetic device.
Does anybody know the etymology of the phrase "sweet dreams"? I tried googling but did not find anything satisfying. Is this a relatively new phrase of the modern world or has this been in use for some time? I think it's the latter one. Answer The OED has the interjection as "a farewell to someone going to bed" from the 20th century: 1908 Sears Roebuck Catal. 198/1 Tenor Solos..Good Bye, Sweet Dreams, Good Bye. But it goes back until at least the 19th and possibly 18th centuries. John Wolcot, writing under the pseudonym of Peter Pindar, used it in his poem "Orson and Ellen; A Legendary Tale" published in 1801: Also from 1801 in The infernal Quixote (Page 287) by Charles Lucas: In the March 1776 of The Universal Magazine was published "The Serenade. A Pastoral Tale. From the German of Gesner" , where the shepherd Daphnis watches over his beloved as she sleeps and sings: The same tale appears in 1776's as Idyl XI, " Daphnis ...
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