Literary notes about Elide (AI summary)
In literary contexts, "elide" refers to the deliberate omission or merging of sounds, letters, or syllables to preserve rhythm, clarity, or stylistic nuance. Authors use the term when discussing the contraction of vowels or syllables to meet metrical requirements in poetry—for instance, where a final vowel might be dropped to maintain a line’s cadence [1, 2, 3]. It also appears in discussions of dialect and pronunciation, where speakers naturally smooth over difficult or unnecessary sounds [4, 5]. In critical analyses, the word extends to describe the truncation of names or even text segments to achieve brevity or focus, which is evident in discussions of typographical ellipses and abbreviated forms [6, 7]. Additionally, "elide" finds its way into titles and character names in dramatic works, as seen in Molière’s plays [8, 9, 10].
- And 'accompaning' still needs to elide the second 'a' to fit the metre.
— from Accolon of Gaul, with Other Poems by Madison Julius Cawein - The dactylic poets very rarely elide the final syllable of an iambic (⏑ –) or Cretic (– ⏑ –) word before a short vowel.
— from A Latin Grammar for Schools and Colleges by George Martin Lane - Hence there is no need to elide a vowel at the caesura; it must therefore be sounded clearly.
— from Chaucer's Works, Volume 6 (of 7) — Introduction, Glossary, and Indexes by Geoffrey Chaucer - The constant effort in Negro dialect is to elide all troublesome consonants and sounds.
— from The Book of American Negro Poetry - Here we are told we elide the "y" of "many," and some would replace "flower" by "flow'r."
— from Practical Guide to English VersificationWith a Compendious Dictionary of Rhymes, an Examinationof Classical Measures, and Comments Upon Burlesque andComic Verse, Vers de Société, and Song-writing by Tom Hood - As described in the end notes, ellipses occasionally are used typographically to elide names.
— from Biographia Epistolaris, Volume 2 being The Biographical Supplement of Coleridge's Biographia Literaria by Samuel Taylor Coleridge - Ellipses are used (pp. 258, 262-263, 290), seemingly to elide a name.
— from Biographia Epistolaris, Volume 2 being The Biographical Supplement of Coleridge's Biographia Literaria by Samuel Taylor Coleridge - In honour of this event Molière composed "La Princesse d'Elide."
— from Royal Palaces and Parks of France by M. F. (Milburg Francisco) Mansfield - Arbate (2 syl .), governor of the prince of Ithaca, in Molière's comedy La Princesse d'Elide (1664).
— from Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama, Vol. 1 A Revised American Edition of the Reader's Handbook by Ebenezer Cobham Brewer - He would reject the Princess d'Elide were she offered on such conditions as you take her on.
— from The Golden Dog by William Kirby
