Literary notes about Blessing (AI summary)
The word “blessing” is deployed in literature with a range of meanings—from divine favour and protection to a token of personal endorsement or goodwill. In early modern drama, it functions as a reciprocal act capable of conveying both honor and a burden of expectation, as seen in the dramatic insistence on mutual favor ([1], [2]). In religious writings, the term is imbued with sanctity and the promise of divine intervention, as illustrated in scriptural passages that describe blessings as sources of health, life, and spiritual respite ([3], [4], [5]). Meanwhile, in narrative prose and poetry, blessings are employed to evoke emotional comfort or to underline pivotal moments of transformation—for example, when seen as a sign of lasting affection or even as a metaphor for life’s fortunes ([6], [7], [8]). This multifaceted usage underscores how blessings can simultaneously articulate hope, consolation, and the immutable interconnectedness of human experience.
- When you are desirous to receive a blessing from heaven (which you cannot, seriously, till you reform), I will beg to receive a blessing from you.
— from Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare - Once more, good night, And when you are desirous to be bles’d, I’ll blessing beg of you.
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare - "Thus saith the Lord, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not, for a blessing is in it
— from Pascal's Pensées by Blaise Pascal - A preservation from stumbling, and a help from falling: he raiseth up the soul, and enlighteneth the eyes, and giveth health, and life, and blessing.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - That a blessing may come upon thee from him, and his blessing may remain in the latter end.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me, and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.
— from Bede's Ecclesiastical History of England by Saint the Venerable Bede - On entering the house he gave his blessing to everybody, and everyone in the family came to kiss his hand.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova - May every blessing of Heaven attend you!
— from The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe