Throughout "Pygmalion's Bride," alliteration creates sounds that reflect the poem's tone and content.
Take, for example, lines 12-14:
My ears were sculpture,
stone-deaf shells.
I heard the sea.
Here, alliterative /s/ sounds produce a sibilant effect; the poem mimics the hissing of the ocean it describes. A similar technique occurs in lines 24-25 when Galatea claims, "I didn't shrink, / played statue, shtum." Here, the repetition of /sh/ sounds creates a hushed tone consistent with Galatea's quiet, passive behavior.
Elsewhere in the poem, the alliteration of harder sounds produces a sharp, percussive rhythm, as in lines 17-21:
He brought me presents, polished pebbles,
little bells.
I didn't blink,
Here, the repetition of /b/ and /p/ sounds is bright—much like the ringing of bells—as well as forceful and disruptive—much like Pygmalion's attempts at seduction. Likewise, in line 34 when Galatea says Pygmalion "propped me up on pillows," the alliteration of /p/ creates an assertive, attention-grabbing sound that suits Pygmalion's controlling, egotistical actions.
Line 33, meanwhile, combines soft and hard consonant sounds: "I showed no scratch, no scrape, no scar." By combining hushed /s/ sounds with rough /c/ sounds, the alliteration of /sc/ captures Pygmalion's violent, forceful behavior and Galatea's quiet, seething disapproval at once.