Literary notes about IMPLY (AI summary)
The word "imply" has been used in literature in a variety of nuanced ways, often serving as a subtle vehicle for conveying unspoken intentions or layered meanings. In narrative fiction, authors like George Eliot and Charles Dickens employ it to indicate underlying demands or criticisms without stating them outright—for instance, a character’s measured look or word choice might imply discontent or expectation, as seen in [1] and [2]. In more philosophical or analytical texts, such as those by Aristotle or Kant, "imply" is used to denote a logical consequence or an inherent connection between ideas ([3], [4]). Meanwhile, in works ranging from Homer to Poe, the term serves to hint at background contexts or to suggest alternative interpretations that are not explicitly expressed ([5], [6]). Thus, across genres and centuries, "imply" functions as a bridge between what is said and what is meant, inviting readers to engage with the text on a deeper, inferential level.
- " Mr. Vincy rose, began to button his great-coat, and looked steadily at his brother-in-law, meaning to imply a demand for a decisive answer.
— from Middlemarch by George Eliot - To take it up, Mr Richard, sir, would imply a doubt of you; and in you, sir, I have unlimited confidence.
— from The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens - The latter imply Deliberation.
— from The Ethics of Aristotle by Aristotle - But this purposiveness does not imply a purpose or any other ground whatever.
— from Kant's Critique of Judgement by Immanuel Kant - "Some of the epithets which Homer applies to the heavens seem to imply that he considered it as a solid vault of metal.
— from The Iliad by Homer - There seems, however, only one plausible way of accounting for them—and yet it is dreadful to believe in such atrocity as my suggestion would imply.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Edition by Edgar Allan Poe
