The poem uses alliteration to link words and concepts together, and to bring its images to vivid life.
One strong example turns up in line 10, when the speaker describes the students she addresses as "sons of science." Here, the alliteration works to make the students appear special—or, at least, especially privileged. The two /s/ sounds link the students to their studies, the phrase ringing out like a special title conferred only on a select few.
Later in the poem, alliteration dramatizes Christ's mercy. The speaker, in an almost preacher-like tone, talks to the students about Jesus:
He hears revilers, nor resents their scorn:
What matchless mercy in the Son of God!
The harsh /r/ sounds of "revilers" (or hateful people) and "resents" meet with the gentler /h/ sounds of "He hears"—a contrast between rough and soft that matches the contrast between Christ and his persecutors that these lines describe. The powerfully alliterative "matchless mercy" of the next line speaks to the might of Jesus himself, and the magnitude of his sacrifice for humankind.
Later, the alliterative /d/ of "deign'd to die" in line 18 draws attention to the way that Jesus chose to save humanity through his own death, while the luxurious, silky /s/ sounds of "sublimest skies" in line 19 suggests the divine beauty that awaits Christians in the heavenly afterlife. (And for more on the poem's /s/ sounds, see the Sibilance section of this guide.)