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Literary notes about Iconoclast (AI summary)

The term "iconoclast" in literature is versatile, often used to denote someone who challenges established norms and venerable traditions. It is applied both literally—to historical figures who defied religious or cultural icons, as in the reference to Mahmud’s legacy [1] or the iconoclast emperor Michael Balbus [2]—and figuratively, as a label for a person whose unconventional ideas disrupt the status quo, like the reformer described in Shaw’s work [3] or the character portrayed as an image-breaker [4]. In some contexts the word evokes a sense of valor and intellectual independence, while in others it carries a touch of irreverence or even irony, as when Time is depicted as a ruthless idol-breaker [5]. Thus, the usage of "iconoclast" in literature richly portrays individuals or forces that undermine accepted symbols for the sake of progress or personal conviction.
  1. The Awans claim descent from the iconoclast Mahmud.
    — from The Sepoy by Edmund Candler
  2. Under Louis the Pious the matter was brought forward anew on the occasion of an embassy from the iconoclast emperor Michael Balbus.
    — from Church History, Volume 1 (of 3) by J. H. (Johann Heinrich) Kurtz
  3. I have become a reformer, and, like all reformers, an iconoclast.
    — from Man and Superman: A Comedy and a Philosophy by Bernard Shaw
  4. He was a—you know, an image-breaker—" "An iconoclast," supplied Mrs. Grange.
    — from My Shipmate—Columbus by Stephen Marlowe
  5. She was impressed with the fact that Time is an iconoclast,—which last word seemed to strike her as one of the finest in the dictionary.
    — from Stories and Sketches by our best authors by Various

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