Literary notes about Harbinger (AI summary)
The term "harbinger" in literature is a multifaceted device that signals what is to come—often heralding change, whether auspicious or foreboding. Authors employ it to evoke both hope and dread: one passage envisions a man as the harbinger of a revolutionary era [1], while another casts a bird’s melancholic song as the omen of impending winter storms [2]. It is equally at home in declarations of peace and portents of misfortune, as when it forewarns of calm before a storm of calamity [3, 4]. This versatile word enriches narrative textures, imbuing scenes with a lyrical resonance that bridges the natural world with human destiny [5, 6].
- He has seen it, says he has watched you closely, and you are an exception to all known law, or the harbinger of a new era in human progress."
— from Half a Century by Jane Grey Cannon Swisshelm - The cuckoo, moreover, gives warning with sorrowful note, Summer's harbinger sings, and forebodes to the heart bitter sorrow.
— from English Literature by William J. Long - It was long regarded as the harbinger of peace between nations.
— from Ulysses S. Grant by Walter Allen - He is the terrible harbinger of the tempest.
— from Toilers of the Sea by Victor Hugo - The Koïl or kokila (Cuculus Indicus) as the harbinger of spring and love is a universal favourite with Indian poets.
— from The Rámáyan of Válmíki, translated into English verse by Valmiki - This temporary failure may be the harbinger of success.
— from Ten Englishmen of the Nineteenth Century by James Richard Joy
