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].
- 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 - "No, into the copse," she said, with a slight flush.
— from White Nights and Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - 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 - 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 - A purchaser has turned up for the copse: he'll give eight thousand for the timber.
— from The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - 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 - 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 - It was quite still now in the copse, and not a bird was stirring.
— from Anna Karenina by graf Leo Tolstoy