Literary notes about Feet (AI summary)
The word “feet” appears in literature with an impressive range of functions, shifting effortlessly from concrete measurements to potent symbols of humility or power. In some works, “feet” quantify distances and dimensions, giving readers an exact sense of scale—whether it is a mountain’s 11,000 feet of elevation [1], a spire’s striking 300 feet [2], or the precise dimensions of an obelisk [3]. In other contexts, “feet” represent physical action or position, as characters rise to their feet in moments of urgency [4, 5] or fall at another’s feet in acts of reverence and submission [6, 7, 8]. Poets and novelists also imbue “feet” with a metaphorical grace, highlighting delicate motion or serving as the grounding element in expressions of adoration and servitude [9, 10]. Thus, “feet” functions as both a literal and figurative device, anchoring descriptions in tangible reality while also elevating emotional and symbolic significance.
- On the following morning, we crossed the Islumbo pass over Singalelah into Sikkim, the elevation being 11,000 feet.
— from Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll - That of Sienna has already been mentioned; that of Milan is a sumptuous many-pinnacled structure terminating in a spire 300 feet high.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - The lower drums of the Parthenon peristyle are 6 feet 6½ inches in diameter, and 2 feet 10 inches high, cut from single blocks of Pentelic marble.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - Paul rose to his feet.
— from Howards End by E. M. Forster - Jumping to his feet, he began to run through the night.
— from Winesburg, Ohio: A Group of Tales of Ohio Small Town Life by Sherwood Anderson - Then calling for a light, he went in: and trembling, fell down at the feet of Paul and Silas.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - Then Christian fell down at his feet as dead, crying, "Woe is me, for I am undone!"
— from The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan Every Child Can Read by John Bunyan - He fell prostrate before his wife, he kissed the feet of his savior, and he devoutly promised to live the grateful and submissive slave of Antonina.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon - My feet kept drowsing, drowsing still, My fingers were awake;
— from Poems by Emily Dickinson, Three Series, Complete by Emily Dickinson - Love lent her feet the wings of winds to reach (Whose steps stir not the shingle of the beach)
— from The Poems of Sappho: An Interpretative Rendition into English by Sappho
