Literary notes about Deride (AI summary)
Literary authors frequently use "deride" to capture the act of mocking or belittling, whether directed toward a person’s character, a set of ideas, or even social customs. In poetic verse, the word can evoke a graceful, almost sardonic dismissal of beauty or charm [1], while in narrative dialogue it conveys a more immediate, personal scorn when one character ridicules another [2]. Philosophical texts also favor "deride" as a tool to critique established doctrines or cultural norms, thereby challenging the status quo with a blend of wit and disdain [3]. In reflective memoirs or confessional passages, it is employed to underscore a speaker’s defiance or vulnerability in the face of criticism [4]. Even in dramatic works, "deride" is adapted to accentuate the interplay between authority and irreverence, enriching the text with both literal and symbolic layers of meaning [5][6].
- His sides the tamarisk's slenderness deride, so lithe they are, Whence for conceit in his own charms still drunken doth he fare.
— from Tales from the Arabic — Volume 03 - How he did deride me when I asked our mother the foolish question—“Have bees whiskers?”
— from We and the World: A Book for Boys. Part I by Juliana Horatia Gatty Ewing - This doctrine raises social life, inasmuch as it teaches us to hate no man, neither to despise, to deride, to envy, or to be angry with any.
— from Ethics by Benedictus de Spinoza - Let him who seeth them not, deride me for saying these things, and I will pity him, while he derides me.
— from The Confessions of St. Augustine by Bishop of Hippo Saint Augustine - II.44 Make mouths at him ] i.e. , deride him by antic gestures and mockery.
— from Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare - Διαχλευάζω, ( διά & χλευάζω ) f. άσω, to jeer outright, deride, v.r. Ac. 2.13.
— from A Greek-English Lexicon to the New Testament by William Greenfield