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Literary notes about Enthrall (AI summary)

The word enthrall is frequently employed to convey the sense of being completely captivated or bound, whether by beauty, a powerful idea, or even an enchantment that strips away freedom. It often appears in poetic and dramatic contexts where its use underscores an intense emotional or sensual grip—as when tender tones infect the heart completely [1] or when beauty is portrayed as a force that lifts the soul to the heavens [2]. In the works of Shakespeare and others, the term is linked to the immediate, irresistible attraction that compels one to surrender to love or art [3], while it is also used more critically to imply a kind of subjugation or loss of autonomy [4]. Whether describing the charm of a musical note, the allure of vivid imagery, or the bewitching power of ideas that seize the mind [5, 6], enthrall continues to serve as a robust literary device for illustrating the many shades of irresistible allure.
  1. How her dear tones resounded sweetly, How they my heart enthrall’d completely, How down my cheeks the tears coursed fleetly
    — from The poems of Heine; Complete Translated into the original metres; with a sketch of his life by Heinrich Heine
  2. The sun And all the vast beyond, [Pg 213] And Beauty to enthrall The soul of man to heaven: Yea, all These gifts to him were given.
    — from Collected Poems: Volume One by Alfred Noyes
  3. So is mine eye enthrallèd to thy shape; And thy fair virtue's force perforce doth move me, On the first view, to say, to swear, I love thee.
    — from A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
  4. He chose me from among the sisters of the sea to enthrall me to a man, even Peleus Aiakos' son, and with a man I endured wedlock sore against my will.
    — from The Iliad by Homer
  5. I am afraid I may frighten the company, frighten or enthrall them.
    — from The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
  6. What if it were true, he thought, that there were powers which enthrall our heart and senses, and bend a man's will to a girl's whim?
    — from The Strand Magazine, Vol. 01, Issue 02, February 1891 An Illustrated Monthly by Various

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