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Literary notes about Forcible (AI summary)

The word “forcible” appears in literature with a remarkable range of applications, from describing physical exertion or coercion to denoting the strength and clarity of expression. In some texts, authors use it in a literal sense—illustrating acts of physical force, as when a ragtag mob seizes an armoury [1] or when a tug leads to the abrupt loss of a kite [2]—and in more controversial contexts, such as the forcible administration of poison [3] or abduction [4]. At the same time, “forcible” is often employed metaphorically to emphasize the impact and persuasiveness of language: it characterizes clear, logical arguments that sweep the reader or listener along with them [5, 6], and it describes expressive, vigorous speech or writing that leaves no room for ambiguity [7, 8]. In each instance, the term enriches the narrative by adding nuance to both physical action and intellectual engagement.
  1. At that moment the mob, under a bold leader, had seized the opportunity to take forcible possession of the armoury.
    — from My Life — Volume 1 by Richard Wagner
  2. A forcible tug by the other player resulted in the abrupt loss of his kite.
    — from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda
  3. The forcible administration of poison is by no means a new thing in criminal annals.
    — from A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle
  4. This forcible abduction, so roughly carried out, was accomplished with the rapidity of lightning.
    — from Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne
  5. This supposition, however, rests entirely upon conjecture, and is not only discredited by its own improbability, but by a yet more forcible argument.
    — from The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Complete by Suetonius
  6. The slightly rasping voice was "almost instantly forgotten in the beauty of his argument," which was "clear, forcible, logical and persuasive."
    — from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson
  7. The habitual use of the active voice makes for forcible writing.
    — from The Elements of Style by William Strunk
  8. Thou hast frighted the word out of his right sense, so forcible is thy wit.
    — from Much Ado about Nothing by William Shakespeare

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