Literary notes about Disguised (AI summary)
The word "disguised" in literature is a multifaceted term that often signifies concealment or transformation of identity, intent, emotion, or social status. It is used to illustrate characters masking their true selves—whether a hero cloaking his arrival among his enemies to adopt a deceptive guise [1] or a peasant's dress concealing a woman's true form [2]—and can even describe more subtle internal shifts, such as the tempering of natural fierceness into worldly wisdom [3] or the masking of anger to avoid appearing vengeful [4]. The term also plays a pivotal role in emphasizing themes of subterfuge and hidden motives in narratives, as seen with figures adopting new identities to serve their clandestine goals [5] or when ambition is veiled behind a facade of patriotism [6].
- He disguised himself as completely as he could, and, like Ulysses, "Into the city of his foes he came."
— from Plutarch's Lives, Volume 1 (of 4) by Plutarch - She was dressed like a man, and wore a blue overcoat which disguised her shape admirably.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova - He displayed on every occasion a valor equal to his strength; and his native fierceness was soon tempered or disguised by the knowledge of the world.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon - But he disguised his anger, lest he should seem to have sought the office from hatred of the maiden.
— from The Danish History, Books I-IX by Grammaticus Saxo - “Just now,” D’Artagnan continued, “you were disguised--I mean to say, attired--as a murderer, and now----”
— from Twenty years after by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet - Before an assembly thus modelled and prepared, Augustus pronounced a studied oration, which displayed his patriotism, and disguised his ambition.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon
