Literary notes about Alabaster (AI summary)
Writers often invoke “alabaster” to evoke an image of luminous purity and delicate beauty, whether describing a smooth, flawless complexion or the graceful appearance of sculpted stone. Its use ranges from architectural descriptions, such as the intricate revetments and stately lintels crafted of alabaster [1, 2, 3], to poetic portrayals of human features that shine with an ethereal, almost otherworldly brightness [4, 5, 6, 7]. In some narratives, the term also carries a symbolic weight, bridging the tangible artistry of carved monuments and the tender, luminous qualities of a person’s skin, thereby enriching both the physical and metaphorical landscapes of the text [8, 9, 10].
- Pictures in low relief covered the alabaster revetment.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - The hall was roofed with stone lintels carried on sixteen square monolithic piers of alabaster.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - The spiral columns of translucent alabaster which support the altar, are padded with excelsior and wrapped with canvas.
— from Italy at War and the Allies in the West by E. Alexander (Edward Alexander) Powell - Why should a man whose blood is warm within Sit like his grandsire cut in alabaster, Sleep when he wakes, and creep into the jaundice
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare - The long, dark lashes lay feathery above the alabaster cheek; there were delicate blue lines in the lids.
— from Black is White by George Barr McCutcheon - Yet I'll not shed her blood, Nor scar that whiter skin of hers than snow And smooth as monumental alabaster.
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare - With more than admiration he admir'd Her azure veins, her alabaster skin, Her coral lips, her snow-white dimpled chin.
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare - And breaking the alabaster box, she poured it out upon his head.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - And behold a woman that was in the city, a sinner, when she knew that he sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - Fabric it seemed of diamond and of gold, With alabaster domes and silver spires, And blazing terrace upon terrace, high Uplifted.”
— from The Arts and Crafts of Older Spain, Volume 1 (of 3) by Leonard Williams
