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Literary notes about Believed (AI summary)

The word "believed" serves as a versatile literary tool, conveying everything from subjective conviction to widely accepted fact. In historical texts, it is employed to indicate what is generally assumed or reported—such as the assertion in [1] that “he is believed to have been shot,” or in [2] where political lives are interpreted through popular belief. Philosophical and religious works similarly use the term to mark accepted truths or doctrinal principles, as seen in [3] and [4]. In narrative fiction, “believed” often reveals a character’s inner thoughts or lends dramatic irony; for instance, in [5] Mary’s private faith in magic or in [6] the nuanced misunderstandings between characters. Thus, across genres, "believed" enriches the text by highlighting the interplay between perception, myth, and reality.
  1. He is believed to have been shot.
    — from The History of a Crime by Victor Hugo
  2. It is certain that his enemies believed his political life had been brought to an ignoble close.
    — from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson
  3. that everything which they themselves honestly believed to be aere perennius
    — from The Dawn of Day by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
  4. Such, it is believed, is God's design.
    — from Know the Truth: A Critique on the Hamiltonian Theory of Limitation by Jesse Henry Jones
  5. There really was a sort of Magic about Dickon, as Mary always privately believed.
    — from The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
  6. We misunderstood each other: he believed me more to blame than I really was; I considered his interference less excusable than I now find it.
    — from Lady Susan by Jane Austen

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