Literary notes about Arcade (AI summary)
In literature, the term “arcade” has been used with striking versatility, functioning both as a physical space and a symbolic setting. Traditionally, it evokes images of stately passageways and sheltered public corridors, as seen when Dickens likens a New York cabin to the Burlington Arcade ([1]) or when Joyce describes students sheltering beneath a library arcade ([2]). This architectural motif is often employed to ground narratives in a tangible urban or historical context—whether it’s the bustling Colbert Arcade featured by Victor Hugo ([3], [4]), the serene gathering spots in ashrams ([5]), or even the regal imagery of nobles treading an arcade’s timeworn pavement ([6]). In a modern twist, however, the word also surfaces in discussions of coin-operated video gaming ([7]), showcasing its semantic expansion from stately arcades of old to contemporary entertainment hubs.
- When I first descended into the cabin of the New York, it looked, in my unaccustomed eyes, about as long as the Burlington Arcade.
— from American Notes by Charles Dickens - When they passed through the passage beside Kildare house they found many students sheltering under the arcade of the library.
— from A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce - I will be in the Colbert Arcade at nine o'clock.
— from The History of a Crime by Victor Hugo - In a few moments I was under the Colbert Arcade.
— from The History of a Crime by Victor Hugo - The Mahatma was already seated under the arcade of the ashram porch, across the courtyard from his study.
— from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda - The lazzarone sleeps under the arcade, whose pavement in old times was to be trodden only by the feet of high nobility.
— from Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen by H. C. Andersen - rec.games.video.arcade Discussions about coin-operated video games.
— from The Online World by Odd De Presno
