Literary notes about Lash (AI summary)
The word “lash” in literature is employed with a rich duality, functioning both as a literal instrument of physical punishment and as a potent metaphor for emotional or societal impact. In works of classic epic poetry, for instance, the lash is vividly depicted as a tangible force—whipping horses into motion or punishing men and beasts alike ([1], [2])—while in narratives of slavery, it starkly symbolizes the brutal realities of oppression, as the lash inflicts both physical and psychological torment ([3], [4]). Authors also harness the figurative power of the term to denote the sharp, stinging effect of criticism or fate upon an individual’s character or spirit ([5], [6]), thereby enriching the narrative with layers of meaning that transcend the physical act into the realm of metaphor and symbolism.
- His horse’s flanks and sides are forc’d to feel The clanking lash, and goring of the steel.
— from The Aeneid by Virgil - Saturnia lends the lash; the coursers fly; Smooth glides the chariot through the liquid sky.
— from The Iliad by Homer - Still he plied the lash without stint upon my poor body, until it seemed that the lacerated flesh was stripped from my bones at every stroke.
— from Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup - Winding the lash around his hand, and taking hold of the small end of the stock, he walked up to me, and with a malignant look, ordered me to strip.
— from Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup - “At once, like a lash across the face, came the possibility of losing my own age, of being left helpless in this strange new world.
— from The Time Machine by H. G. Wells - The Whigs feared the lash of his satire; the Tories feared to lose his support.
— from English Literature by William J. Long
