Literary notes about Lap (AI summary)
The term “lap” in literature serves a variety of functions—both concrete and figurative. In many narratives it signifies the physical space on one’s thighs, a place of comfort and close connection, as seen in scenes where children are cradled or nurtured [1][2][3]. At times it becomes a metaphor for receiving opportunities or advantages unexpectedly, as in money or chance falling “into one’s lap” [4][5]. The word is also employed for its rich imagery, evoking feelings of warmth, security, and intimacy, whether through quiet moments of contemplation [6][7][8] or tender acts of caregiving, such as a head resting in someone’s protective embrace [9][10]. Occasionally, “lap” even extends into the realm of technical description, denoting a measured space in mechanical workings [11][12]. This breadth of usage underscores the word’s versatility in enriching both narrative and poetic expression.
- As there was but one chair, I sat down and took the child in my lap.
— from Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself by Harriet A. Jacobs - As she held Benny in her lap, he said, "Aunt Nancy, I want to show you something."
— from Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself by Harriet A. Jacobs - She's scarcely had the child off her lap, poor thing, these seven days and nights, except when I've been able to take it for a minute or two."
— from Bleak House by Charles Dickens - I needed money; scholarships and prizes fell into my lap,—not all I wanted or strove for, but all I needed to keep in school.
— from Darkwater: Voices from Within the Veil by W. E. B. Du Bois - Does He drop money in your lap?" He laughed.
— from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda - She was pale and quiet as a meditative statue, clasping her hands on her lap.
— from Silas Marner by George Eliot - " "Ah, what a different life from mine!" said Dorothea, with keen interest, clasping her hands on her lap.
— from Middlemarch by George Eliot - She listened attentively, with the constrained expression still on her face, and her hands still nervously clasped together in her lap.
— from The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins - But she had stopped now with a folded gown in her lap, and had her face in her hands, crying.
— from Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain - Sri Yukteswar put my head on his lap, stroking my forehead with angelic tenderness.
— from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda - The shaded parts, L L , are called the lap .
— from How it Works by Archibald Williams - Hence the very simple formula:—Travel of valve = 2 × (lap + breadth of port).
— from How it Works by Archibald Williams
