Literary notes about ESPY (AI summary)
The word “espy” is employed in literature to evoke a sense of keen, sometimes almost mystical, perceptiveness. Often it is used to suggest an act of discovery or the careful observation of a detail that might otherwise go unnoticed, as when characters detect a lurking threat or a hidden sign in their environment [1, 2]. At times the term retains an archaic flavor, seen in its various historical forms and usages that stress both admiration and foreboding in the act of seeing [3, 4]. Whether it is used to instruct a herald to locate a brave knight [5] or to describe the subtle observation of nature and human behavior [6, 7], “espy” imbues the narrative with a measure of suspense and nuance, bridging the literal act of seeing with the deeper art of insight.
- As soon as we espy the sinister ears of the wolf, we believe that the wolf himself is near.
— from The Danish History, Books I-IX by Grammaticus Saxo - Nobody, it appeared, was alert enough to espy that fugacious shadow on the fire-ladder.
— from The Day of Days: An Extravaganza by Louis Joseph Vance - Tespye , for To espye, to spy out, espy, L. 966, B 1989, 4478, D 398; Tespyen, for To espyen, to see, to look about, E 1257, 1410.
— from Chaucer's Works, Volume 6 (of 7) — Introduction, Glossary, and Indexes by Geoffrey Chaucer - And quoth another: Two fair ones lying on the earth I did of late espy; Two that I needs must love, although they lay upon mine eye.
— from The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume III - And King Arthur told a herald, “Ride and espy the cognizance of that brave knight, for I have asked many who he is, and none can tell me.”
— from The Legends of King Arthur and His Knights by Sir James Knowles and Sir Thomas Malory - "I espy a strange sail yonder," remarked a Liverpool captain—"that woman in the long white garment.
— from Twice-told tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne - “Then we must set out to meet your white friend,” said the Indian; “for should he be coming over the ice to-day, the wolves are certain to espy him.”
— from Afar in the Forest by William Henry Giles Kingston
