Literary notes about Defiance (AI summary)
The term defiance functions in literature as a multifaceted symbol of rebellion and unwavering resolve. In some works, it embodies a powerful stance against authority or societal dictates, as characters and nations alike challenge established norms or treaties [1, 2]. At times, defiance appears in the intimate expressions of individual characters—a determined look, a mocking gesture, or the simple act of defiant silence—which reveals both inner strength and personal resistance to overwhelming forces [3, 4, 5, 6]. Whether defiance is employed to illustrate the refusal to succumb to despair or to illustrate an audacious challenge to moral and social conventions, it consistently underscores a dynamic clash between personal will and external impositions [7, 8, 9].
- In 282 B.C. (in defiance of the treaty of 301 B.C. ) a Roman fleet appeared before the Harbour of Tarentum.
— from Helps to Latin Translation at Sight by Edmund Luce - Perfect as a work of art, setting at defiance its Toledo and Damascus rivals, there is more than art could impart.
— from Bushido, the Soul of Japan by Inazo Nitobe - General Ronsin too, he still looks forth with some air of defiance, eye of command: the rest are sunk in a stony paleness of despair.
— from The French Revolution: A History by Thomas Carlyle - Turning a relentless look on his enemy, he shook a hand in grim defiance.
— from The Last of the Mohicans; A narrative of 1757 by James Fenimore Cooper - Yes, the face was pretty enough, he decided; but it wore an expression of discontent coupled to a shade of defiance or audacity.
— from The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum - She saw me too, and confronted me with a look of hard defiance.
— from The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë - One day we had a picnic there together, in defiance of caste rules.
— from My Reminiscences by Rabindranath Tagore - c. 23) throws out a bold defiance to the Pagan magistrates.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon - ‘His defiance of the ‘Devils’ in Worms,’ says Carlyle, ‘was not a mere boast, as the like might be if spoken now.
— from Demonology and Devil-lore by Moncure Daniel Conway
