Literary notes about DAUNT (AI summary)
The word "daunt" has long been employed in literature to capture the notion of intimidation—yet always with an undercurrent of resilience. In many instances, authors depict characters whose spirits remain unyielding in the face of adversity: John Bunyan’s pilgrim in [1] and the heroic figures of Homer in [2] illustrate that no fear or force can break their determination. Similarly, writers like Charles Mackay [3] and Richard Henry Dana [4] use the term to emphasize an unwavering resolve when confronting daunting challenges. Moreover, the word appears in a more colloquial or even playful context, as seen in Ben Jonson's refrains [5, 6] and Robert Burns’s multifaceted use of the term [7, 8, 9]. Whether evoking the epic struggles of myth [10] or the persistence against perceived societal obstacles [11, 12, 13], "daunt" is consistently portrayed as a hurdle to be overcome rather than an insurmountable threat.
- "Hobgoblin nor foul fiend Can daunt his spirit; He knows he at the end Shall life inherit.
— from The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan Every Child Can Read by John Bunyan - No fear could daunt, nor earth nor hell control.
— from The Iliad by Homer - In the search of his chimera nothing could daunt him.
— from Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles Mackay - But nothing could ever daunt him, or overcome, for a moment, his habitual good humor.
— from Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana - DAUPHIN MY BOY, refrain of old comic song. DAW, daunt.
— from Every Man in His Humor by Ben Jonson - DAUPHIN MY BOY, refrain of old comic song. DAW, daunt.
— from The Alchemist by Ben Jonson - “Well, Sir, from the silent dead, Still I'll try to daunt you; Ever round your midnight bed Horrid sprites shall haunt you!”
— from Poems and Songs of Robert Burns by Robert Burns - Couthie, couthy, loving, affable, cosy, comfortable. Cowe, to scare, to daunt.
— from Poems and Songs of Robert Burns by Robert Burns - Daunton, to daunt.
— from Poems and Songs of Robert Burns by Robert Burns - His must have been of adamant, Beyond the power of Death to daunt, Who ventured first this route to try, And all its frightful risks defy.
— from Fables of La Fontaine — a New Edition, with Notes by Jean de La Fontaine - Therefore the publisher's warning did not daunt me.
— from Secret societies and subversive movements by Nesta Helen Webster - It may be that mankind may perish eventually from this passion for knowledge!—but even that does not daunt us.
— from The Dawn of Day by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche - 167 “To grief there is a limit, not so to fear.” 168 “Check,” or “daunt.”
— from Bacon's Essays, and Wisdom of the Ancients by Francis Bacon
