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Literary notes about Copse (AI summary)

The word copse is often used to evoke a sense of secluded natural space that acts as both a setting and a symbol, representing transition, refuge, or concealment. In many narratives, characters enter, pass through, or linger near a copse, suggesting a threshold between the familiar and the unknown—as seen when a character seeks solace or a meeting point in a quiet thicket [1] or [2]. Authors frequently employ the copse to enhance atmosphere; for instance, its shadowed, wind-swept presence underscores moments of tension or reflection in works where nature mirrors emotional states [3] and [4]. Sometimes the copse marks important geographic or social boundaries, serving as a locale tied to transactions, revelations, or confrontations [5] and [6]. In this multifaceted role, the copse enriches the narrative texture by linking the external landscape with the internal journey of its characters [7] and [8].
  1. On reaching the copse, Levin got out of the trap and led Oblonsky to a corner of a mossy, swampy glade, already quite free from snow.
    — from Anna Karenina by graf Leo Tolstoy
  2. "No, into the copse," she said, with a slight flush.
    — from White Nights and Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  3. From the thickest parts of the copse, where the snow still remained, came the faint sound of narrow winding threads of water running away.
    — from Anna Karenina by graf Leo Tolstoy
  4. The wind had risen again as on the previous evening, and the ancient pines murmured gloomily about him when he entered the hermitage copse.
    — from The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  5. A purchaser has turned up for the copse: he'll give eight thousand for the timber.
    — from The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  6. Why, I’m buying it, upon my honor, simply, believe me, for the glory of it, that Ryabinin, and no one else, should have bought the copse of Oblonsky.
    — from Anna Karenina by graf Leo Tolstoy
  7. A lofty copse, the growth of ages, stood; Nor winter's boreal blast, nor thunderous shower, Nor solar ray, could pierce the shady bower.
    — from The Odyssey by Homer
  8. It was quite still now in the copse, and not a bird was stirring.
    — from Anna Karenina by graf Leo Tolstoy

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