Literary notes about Cheese (AI summary)
In literature, cheese is imbued with a wide range of meanings, both literal and metaphorical. At times, it serves as a visual metaphor, as when a character’s face is compared to damp yellow cheese to evoke an unusual aesthetic ([1]). In many works, cheese represents humble nourishment and the simplicity of everyday life—a staple found on tables alongside bread, ham, and even candles, symbolizing sustenance and comfort ([2], [3]). Authors also play with its figurative aspects, using phrases like "as different as chalk from cheese" to highlight stark contrasts ([4]), while other writers invoke cheese to evoke rustic traditions or satirical observations about parsimony and value ([5], [6]). Thus, the word “cheese” operates on multiple levels, enriching narratives with both its concrete qualities and its broader cultural and symbolic resonance.
- His face, shining with raindrops, had the appearance of damp yellow cheese save where two rosy spots indicated the cheekbones.
— from Dubliners by James Joyce - The tables are laid with cheese in wooden bowls, beer in wooden piggins, poured from leathern jacks, and bread brought in large baskets.
— from The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain - At the present moment he was engaged in handing round a mug of mild liquor, supplied from a barrel in the corner, and cut pieces of bread and cheese.
— from Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy - [Hamlet]; as different as chalk from cheese, as different as Macedon and Monmouth; lucus a non lucendo[Lat]. diversified &c. 16a.
— from Roget's Thesaurus by Peter Mark Roget - savings; prevention of waste, save-all; cheese parings and candle ends; parsimony &c. 819.
— from Roget's Thesaurus by Peter Mark Roget - By tyromancy, whereof we make some proof in a great Brehemont cheese which I here keep by me.
— from Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais
