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Literary notes about Intended (AI summary)

In literature the word "intended" is often used to indicate purpose or design, whether it describes the function of an object or the plan of a character. It appears to denote a deliberate aim or expectation, as in [1], where hoplites are not merely soldiers but ones specifically meant for rapid, close combat; or in [2], where a character acknowledges that his life circumstances have forced him into a role he was never meant to occupy. At times, the term highlights a divergence between plan and outcome, such as in [3] where a king’s rage causes him to act sooner than he had planned, or in [4], where the intention behind a grim act is foregrounded in a moment of moral tension. Thus, "intended" in literature functions both as an indicator of purpose and as a means to contrast expectations with the unpredictable unfolding of events.
  1. They were hoplites intended for close combat, but more lightly armed and more fit for rapid evolutions than the phalanx.
    — from The Anabasis of Alexander by Arrian
  2. A military life is not what I was intended for, but circumstances have now made it eligible.
    — from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
  3. The king however was so enraged, that he put Leontius to death sooner than he had intended, owing to the zeal displayed by the peltasts.
    — from The Histories of Polybius, Vol. 1 (of 2) by Polybius
  4. “Did your brother tell you, anyway, that he intended to kill your father?” asked the prosecutor.
    — from The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

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