Literary notes about In (AI summary)
The preposition "in" serves many functions in literary language, acting as a versatile tool to convey location, state, inclusion, and even abstract conditions. In many instances, "in" locates characters or objects within specific settings—as when names are mentioned "in the Gazette" [1] or a governor is positioned "in the wood" [2]—mirroring the way physical spaces or timeframes are articulated in narrative. It also marks membership or involvement, as seen in phrases like "were in attendance" [3] or "in his excitement" [4], while also signaling conditions or states, such as being "in fault" [5] or "in the dark" [6]. Moreover, its use extends to more complex constructs, for instance, defining abstract relationships or transformations, like the shift "in consequence" [7] or the metaphorical presence "in name" [8]. Across an array of genres—from the direct narrative style of historical texts [9] to the introspective musings in philosophical works [10]—"in" is a subtle yet powerful element that enriches the text by linking ideas, time, space, and conditions seamlessly.
- Let your name be mentioned in the Gazette, and I'll engage the old father relents towards you:" "Mentioned in the Gazette!"
— from Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray - And he met his father in the wood, wrapped in the skin of a black antelope.
— from The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 1 - Doctors D—— and F—— were in attendance.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 2 by Edgar Allan Poe - In his excitement Atchmianov spoke in a strong Armenian accent.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - It is I who have been in fault: I ought to have seen that I could not afford to live in this way.
— from Middlemarch by George Eliot - The fact that the two words are here separated plainly shows that Torinus has been in the dark about this matter almost to the end.
— from Cookery and Dining in Imperial Rome by Apicius - In consequence of this he locked them up with a loom, telling them that when they had woven the piece of work upon it they should be married.
— from Plutarch's Lives, Volume 1 (of 4) by Plutarch - it seemed as if he might become master of Tuscany in fact as well as in name, had Florence only been as well affected to him as were Siena and Pisa.
— from The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri: The Inferno by Dante Alighieri - Most of the ancient objects are in the National Museum of Naples with many replicas in the Field Museum, Chicago.
— from Cookery and Dining in Imperial Rome by Apicius - It is not in passive feeling, but in action, that the good and evil of the rational animal formed for society consists.
— from The Meditations of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus by Emperor of Rome Marcus Aurelius
