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Literary notes about Contemplate (AI summary)

The word "contemplate" in literature often denotes a deliberate, thoughtful engagement with both the outer world and inner emotions. Writers use it to evoke a sense of measured introspection, as when a character reflects deeply on love, grief, or even the mysteries of the universe [1, 2]. It can capture the act of beholding beauty in a scene or object, inviting readers to share in an unhurried, appreciative observation of nature or art [3, 4, 5]. At other times, the term conveys a more analytical or philosophical pondering, urging the mind to consider profound abstract ideas or the unfolding consequences of events [6, 7, 8]. Whether depicting personal sentiment, aesthetic delight, or intellectual inquiry, the term consistently enriches the narrative by linking careful reflection with a wider, often moral or existential, understanding of life [9, 10, 11].
  1. From the tortures of my own heart, I turned to contemplate the deep and voiceless grief of my Elizabeth.
    — from Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
  2. Then, O Bharata, that tiger among men, Krishna, observing Partha contemplate her with absorbed attention, said with a smile, ‘How is this?
    — from The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 1
  3. It was a fine, clear, autumn morning, when they came upon the scene of his promotion, and stopped to contemplate its beauties.
    — from The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens
  4. ‘There are shades in all good pictures, but there are lights too, if we choose to contemplate them,’ said the gentleman with the merry face.
    — from Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
  5. I moved away a little, the better to contemplate the treasures that love displayed before me.
    — from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova
  6. Dost thou not see that this world we live in keeps all its sight confined within, and its eyes open to contemplate itself?
    — from Essays of Michel de Montaigne — Complete by Michel de Montaigne
  7. A system of government, meant for duration, ought to contemplate these revolutions, and be able to accommodate itself to them.
    — from The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton and John Jay and James Madison
  8. 47. Contemplate the courses of the stars, as one should do that revolves along with them.
    — from The Meditations of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus by Emperor of Rome Marcus Aurelius
  9. I walk amongst men as the fragments of the future: that future which I contemplate.
    — from Thus Spake Zarathustra: A Book for All and None by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
  10. ‘Unless I deceive myself, Mr. Traddles,’ pursued Mr. Micawber, ‘what I contemplate is a disclosure of an important nature.’
    — from David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
  11. How is it then that we can bear to contemplate him; nay, that, if we really imagine him, we feel admiration and some kind of sympathy?
    — from Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth by A. C. Bradley

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