Literary notes about Front (AI summary)
In literature, "front" functions as a versatile spatial and metaphorical marker that enriches narrative detail. It often denotes literal positioning, as when it designates the facade of a house or entrance ([1], [2], [3], [4]), guiding both characters and readers to a specific physical locale. The term is equally at home in military contexts, framing battle lines or strategic positions ([5], [6], [7], [8]), and in social or theatrical settings, where it points to the forefront of a stage or the positioning of individuals ([9], [10], [11]). Meanwhile, "front" can serve as a symbol of appearance or imposed demeanor, hinting at superficial facades meant to mislead or impress ([12]). Thus, whether describing architectural features, the layout of a battlefield, or the alignment of characters in a crowd, "front" is deployed to convey dynamic spatial relationships and deeper symbolic contrasts.
- Before the front door hung the sign of "the lion and the unicorn fighting for the crown."
— from All About Coffee by William H. Ukers - At the distance of a mile or two from the village we came to a pretty, low house, with a lawn and shrubbery at the front and a drive up to the door.
— from Black Beauty by Anna Sewell - At the end of the village he paused before the darkened front of the church.
— from Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton - 2. I found it in front of me, near the door.
— from A Complete Grammar of Esperanto by Ivy Kellerman Reed - From all these accounts it is evident that scurvy played an important rôle in the general nutrition of the troops on the Eastern front.
— from Scurvy, Past and Present by Alfred F. Hess - When you have the enemy's strongholds on your rear, and narrow passes in front, it is hemmed-in ground.
— from The Art of War by active 6th century B.C. Sunzi - By their keen barbs a hundred fell: A thousand,—and a thousand more In battle's front lay drenched in gore.
— from The Rámáyan of Válmíki, translated into English verse by Valmiki - Later the officers could fit the little pieces together again, and make a battle front.
— from The Red Badge of Courage: An Episode of the American Civil War by Stephen Crane - Mr. Bumble and Sowerberry walked at a good smart pace in front; and Oliver, whose legs were not so long as his master's, ran by the side.
— from Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens - If I laugh hard from a front row in the theatre, the comedian plays to me for the rest of the evening.
— from This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald - We were seated on a sofa, and on the table in front of us was a chess-board.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova - As the wife of Rosedale—the Rosedale she felt it in her power to create—she would at least present an invulnerable front to her enemy.
— from The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
