Literary notes about Encompassed (AI summary)
The word "encompassed" is masterfully employed in literature to evoke a sense of complete envelopment—whether by tangible elements or abstract forces. In many narratives, it is used to describe physical settings, as in cities or valleys bordered by walls, waters, or natural formations ([1], [2], [3]), imbuing places with a defined, almost defensive quality. At the same time, authors harness the term to portray characters encircled by enemy forces or trapped by pervasive emotion, reflecting confinement both in battle and in the inner world ([4], [5], [6], [7]). This duality of meaning enriches descriptions, lending both vivid imagery and a symbolic depth that enhances the atmosphere of historical conflicts, personal struggles, and the natural environment ([8], [9], [10], [11]).
- the royal city of the Ammonites, was called the city of waters, from being encompassed with waters.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - Jericho is a plain encompassed by a mountainous district, which slopes towards it somewhat in the manner of a theatre.
— from The Geography of Strabo, Volume 3 (of 3) by Strabo - The grounds were extensive, and a high and solid brick wall, topped with a bed of mortar and broken glass, encompassed the whole.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Edition by Edgar Allan Poe - A chosen part of the Illyrian army encompassed them with levelled spears.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon - Encompassed by his declared or concealed enemies, he soon, amidst the nocturnal tumult, received a mortal dart from an uncertain hand.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon - But the situation of a famished army, encompassed on all sides by a host of Barbarians, shortened the moments of grief and deliberation.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon - The sorrows of hell encompassed me: and the snares of death prevented me.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - The slopes which encompassed the vale could not fairly be called hills, unless at their northern face.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 2 by Edgar Allan Poe - Encompassed by the massy walls of this venerable academy, I passed, yet not in tedium or disgust, the years of the third lustrum of my life.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 2 by Edgar Allan Poe - Archangel, 28th March, 17—. How slowly the time passes here, encompassed as I am by frost and snow!
— from Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - At length I once more arose, and busied myself in reflection upon the horrors which encompassed me.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Edition by Edgar Allan Poe
