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Literary notes about Beseech (AI summary)

In literature, “beseech” is employed as a forceful yet respectful appeal, imbuing dialogue with an air of earnest urgency and formality. It appears in varied contexts—from a knight addressing his sovereign in a chivalric tone as in [1], to characters in dramatic plays and high-stakes moments in Shakespeare’s works ([2], [3], [4], [5]) where it underscores the gravity of the request. In religious writings, the term accentuates supplication and divine entreaty, as seen in passages like [6] and [7], while in prose—from Victorian novels to modern narratives—it heightens the emotional intensity of personal or moral pleas ([8], [9], [10]). Through its consistent use across such diverse literary genres, “beseech” helps to evoke both a timeless quality of language and a deep sense of humility and urgency in the speaker’s voice.
  1. Anon as he came before the king, he saluted him and said: O King Arthur, the flower of all knights and kings, I beseech Jesu save thee.
    — from Le Morte d'Arthur: Volume 1 by Sir Thomas Malory
  2. Most heartily I do beseech the court To give the judgment.
    — from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
  3. Soft, swain, awhile, beseech you; Have you a father?
    — from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
  4. Yes, I beseech your Grace; I am not yet well breath'd.
    — from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
  5. I beseech your Highness, do not marry me to a whore.
    — from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
  6. Wherefore, I beseech you, be ye followers of me as I also am of Christ. 4:17.
    — from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete
  7. And David said to God: I have sinned exceedingly in doing this: I beseech thee take away the iniquity of thy servant, for I have done foolishly. 21:9.
    — from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete
  8. “Monsieur Javert,” said she, “I beseech your mercy.
    — from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
  9. "I beseech your good lordship that order be taken to change this law—oh, let no more poor creatures be visited with its tortures.”
    — from The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
  10. I could often beseech them, on my bended knees, to be less resolved upon their own destruction.
    — from The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

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