Literary notes about Festal (AI summary)
The word "festal" has long been employed in literature to evoke an atmosphere of celebration, ceremony, and grand occasion. Writers have used it to describe both literal and metaphorical celebrations—from physical structures like festal arches designed for a day of entertainment ([1]) and seasonal commemorations that call forth gaiety and ritual ([2]), to moments of symbolic splendor and inner joy ([3]). In some texts, "festal" connotes a tangible, communal feast or procession ([4], [5]), while at other times it is used to underline a more elaborate, even ironic, ceremonial atmosphere ([6], [7]). Whether characterizing the bold style of an oration or the evocative imagery of nature and human endeavor, "festal" serves as a versatile literary adjective that enriches the texture of both public celebrations and personal revelations ([8], [9]).
- It might well be built, like a festal bower or arch, to entertain him a single day.
— from Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson by Ralph Waldo Emerson - In the cold season farmers wont to taste The increase of their toil, and yield themselves To mutual interchange of festal cheer.
— from The Georgics by Virgil - Thou makest the heart to be at rest, givest it deep peace and festal joy.
— from The Imitation of Christ by à Kempis Thomas - We lead the festal groups Across the bridegroom's porch; Vesper is here, O youths!
— from The Poems of Sappho: An Interpretative Rendition into English by Sappho - Then uproar wild and misarray Marred the fair form of festal day.
— from The Lady of the Lake by Walter Scott - A festal discourse may be solid and at the same time elaborate, but without spirit.
— from Kant's Critique of Judgement by Immanuel Kant - Unknown to all he doth appear, A vision desolate and drear Doth seem to him the festal scene.
— from Eugene Oneguine [Onegin] by Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin - In New York, woman's voice was first heard on the Nation's great festal day.
— from History of Woman Suffrage, Volume I - Thus they struggle against the gloomy tempest, lured onward by a vision of festal splendor.
— from Twice-told tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne
