Literary notes about LED (AI summary)
The word “led” is remarkably versatile in literature, often functioning as both a literal indicator of movement and a metaphor for influence or consequence. In many narratives, characters are physically guided to a place or situation—consider Rachel being led toward the city ([1]) or Van Helsing leading the way ([2])—while in other contexts, “led” exposes the underlying causes of an event, as when certain ideas lead someone to act in a particular manner ([3], [4]). Historical and heroic texts further employ “led” to emphasize decisive military actions or journeys of transformation, such as charges in battle ([5], [6]) or the navigation through significant landmarks ([7], [8]). Thus, from guiding footsteps to shaping destinies, “led” carries both tangible and abstract meanings, enriching the narrative by connecting actions with their broader implications.
- Rachel led her friend toward the city, and, coming to the mechanics' quarter, stopped before the door of a small, old house.
— from Work: A Story of Experience by Louisa May Alcott - We all kept somehow close together, with Van Helsing slightly in front as he led the way.
— from Dracula by Bram Stoker - Had you said from the beginning what ideas exactly led you to drag me from Petersburg, I should have known.
— from The Lady with the Dog and Other Stories by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - This led to a very long conversation in which he suddenly seemed to take great interest.
— from Sybil, Or, The Two Nations by Earl of Beaconsfield Benjamin Disraeli - At the battle of Makri he had led the charge of cavalry, and pursued the fugitives even to the banks of the Hebrus.
— from The Last Man by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - But it is impossible to determine who this Dionysus 623 was, and at what time, or from what quarter he led an army against the Indians.
— from The Anabasis of Alexander by Arrian - He spoke, and led tall Aeneas under the low roof of his narrow dwelling, and laid him on a couch of stuffed leaves and the skin of a Libyan she-bear.
— from The Aeneid of Virgil by Virgil - It led inland, and it led up.
— from Martin Eden by Jack London
