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Literary notes about Bombast (AI summary)

The term "bombast" has long served as a criticism of overly inflated language in literature. Early uses, as in [1] and [2], show it applied to speeches that are grand in sentiment yet lacking in genuine depth, implying that swelled rhetoric does not equate to true greatness. Later, critics like those in [3] acknowledge its association with the overly theatrical elements found in dramatic works such as Marlowe’s plays, while James Joyce’s terse interjection in [4] reflects its embeddedness in modern literary expression. References such as [5], [6], and [7] further illustrate that bombast is not merely about embellishment but also serves as a critique of verbal excess and insincere pomposity, a notion that even invites comparison with closely related rhetorical devices listed in [8].
  1. This hath filled the Mouths of our Heroes with Bombast; and given them such Sentiments, as proceed rather from a Swelling than a Greatness of Mind.
    — from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson
  2. This hath filled the Mouths of our Heroes with Bombast; and given them such Sentiments, as proceed rather from a Swelling than a Greatness of Mind.
    — from The Spectator, Volume 1 by Joseph Addison and Sir Richard Steele
  3. That he soon fell under Marlowe's influence is evident from the atrocities and bombast of Titus Andronicus and Richard III .
    — from English Literature by William J. Long
  4. —Bombast!
    — from Ulysses by James Joyce
  5. High-falutin , inflated speech, bombast.
    — from The New Gresham Encyclopedia. A to Amide by Various
  6. It is increasingly regarded as a means for the display of elaborate conceits, till at last nothing remains but bombast and verbal jugglery.
    — from A History of Sanskrit Literature by Arthur Anthony Macdonell
  7. Write and deliver a five-minute speech ridiculing a speaker who uses bombast, pomposity and over-enthusiasm.
    — from The Art of Public Speaking by Dale Carnegie and J. Berg Esenwein
  8. Define (a) bombast; (b) bathos; (c) sentimentality; (d) squeamish.
    — from The Art of Public Speaking by Dale Carnegie and J. Berg Esenwein

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