Literary notes about DAIS (AI summary)
The term "dais" in literature designates an elevated platform that emphasizes hierarchy, prominence, or ceremonial importance. It often marks the space where figures of authority or honor are seated apart from the common crowd, as when royalty and nobles are depicted ascending to their high seats [1, 2]. In some narratives the dais becomes a physical marker of social stratification, delineating the privileged from those of lower orders [3, 4]. Other portrayals highlight its ritualistic or formal setting, such as a carefully arranged stage for ceremonies or banquets where measurements and ornamentation underline its significance [5, 6]. In each usage, the dais functions not merely as a piece of furniture but as a symbol of elevated status and marked distinction within the narrative space.
- In the Hall of Hart Hrothgar and his Queen and his courtiers sit at the high table on the dais, and the lower orders at the long table down the hall.
— from The Story of Beowulf, Translated from Anglo-Saxon into Modern English Prose - At the head of the hall, on a dais, was the table of the king, queen, and their son, Prince Uwaine.
— from A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain - It was a long chamber with a step separating the dais where the family sat from the lower portion reserved for their dependents.
— from The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle - Near the target, in a good place, sat the Sheriff upon a raised dais, with many gentlefolk around him.
— from The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle - The lower step of the dais ( ibu g’rei ) is raised about 12 inches from the floor, and measures from 10 feet to 12 feet in length by 8 feet in width.
— from Malay Magic by Walter William Skeat - On the wedding day, the bride and bridegroom are seated on planks on the marriage dais, and milk is sprinkled over them by people of their own sex.
— from Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 7 of 7 by Edgar Thurston
