The term "seal" in literature exhibits remarkable versatility, extending its meaning across official, metaphorical, and natural realms. In many texts it designates an official mark or stamp of authentication—emblematic of authority and tradition as seen in the great seals on charters, patents, and heraldic devices ([1], [2], [3]). At the same time, "seal" carries the practical function of closing or securing, whether it is a letter being sealed with wax or a document being sealed to preserve its confidentiality ([4], [5], [6]). It also emerges as a symbol of commitment and finality, as in vows and confessional rituals that are sealed with one’s blood or sanctity ([7], [8], [9]). Moreover, the word appears in its literal animal form and in descriptive colors, adding yet another layer of imagery to the narrative, such as the seal-brown slippers or references to the animal itself ([10], [11]). Through these diverse applications, literature brings forth a multifaceted word that enriches both the symbolic and tangible textures of the text.
- 208. --Seal of the Corporation of Clothworkers of Bruges (1356).--From an Impression preserved in the Archives of that Town.
— from Manners, Customs, and Dress During the Middle Ages and During the Renaissance Period by P. L. Jacob
- It was incorporated, in pursuance of an act of parliament, by a charter under the great seal, dated the 27th of July 1694.
— from An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith
- Formerly one of the seals for the authentication of royal grants in England, and affixed to documents before passing the privy seal.
— from The Devil is an Ass by Ben Jonson
- and she eagerly broke the neat seal, and, as they say, "devoured the contents" of the letter addressed to her.
— from Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
- He broke the seal and glanced over the contents.
— from Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
- This letter, sealed with a small seal in blue wax, begged Monsieur Bovary to come immediately to the farm of the Bertaux to set a broken leg.
— from Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
- “Lanyon, you remember your vows: what follows is under the seal of our profession.
— from The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
- The next step is for you; I shall take no more steps; I will seal this with the seal of confession.
— from The innocence of Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton
- You may guess, perhaps, that what silences me is a reason incumbent on all Christians—the sacred seal of the confessional.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova
- He went upstairs to put on his slippers—his elegant slippers of seal-brown, shaped like medieval shoes.
— from Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis
- I go hunting polar furs and the seal, leaping chasms with a pike-pointed staff, clinging to topples of brittle and blue.
— from Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman