Illustration of Henry Fleming in a soldier's uniform in front of a confederate flag and an American flag

The Red Badge of Courage

by Stephen Crane

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Student Question

Can you provide an example of alliteration from The Red Badge of Courage?

Quick answer:

An example of alliteration in Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage is found in Chapter 3 with the phrase "a flag fluttered." Another instance appears in Chapter 5, "went into an ecstasy of self-satisfaction," and in Chapter 8, "the sun sank until slanted bronze rays struck the forest." Alliteration involves the repetition of the same consonant sounds at the beginning of words in close succession.

Expert Answers

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There are quite a few examples of alliteration that can be found in Stephen Crane's Civil War novel, The Red Badge of Courage. A literary device, alliteration is the repetition of the same consonant sounds in a sequence of words, most often found at the beginning of words.

One example can be found in Chapter 2. On the regiment's first march, Henry separates himself from the rest of his comrades as night falls, where

...from his present point of view, there was a halo of happiness about each of their heads...

In Chapter 3, "a flag fluttered." In Chapter 5, Henry "went into an ecstasy of self-satisfaction." And in Chapter 8, after Henry had turned and run and the long day had nearly come to a close,

The sunsank until slanted bronze raysstruck the forest.

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