Literary notes about Nymph (AI summary)
The term "nymph" in literature has long been used to evoke images of ethereal beauty and mysterious vitality, often bridging the earthly and the divine. In classical epics, nymphs are portrayed as supernatural beings intertwined with the forces of nature, as seen in ancient texts where they guide heroes or influence the course of events [1], [2], [3]. Meanwhile, mythic and historical narratives continue this tradition by presenting them as agents of wisdom and charm, for instance, when a divine nymph informs the laws of nations or inspires heroic quests [4], [5]. Later literary works expand this symbolism further—Shakespeare uses the motif to suggest both a playful and a transformative quality in his portrayal of natural spirits [6], [7]—while modern authors like James Joyce imbue the figure with an enigmatic allure that challenges straightforward interpretation [8], [9].
- [787-818] Nymph might be so bold, drew nigh and wrenched away the spear where it stuck deep in the root.
— from The Aeneid of Virgil by Virgil - But since bitter doom is upon her, up, glide from heaven, O Nymph, and seek the Latin borders, where under evil omen they join in baleful battle.
— from The Aeneid of Virgil by Virgil - Thus having said, he cut the cleaving sky, And in a moment vanished from her eye, The nymph, obedient to
— from The Odyssey by Homer - The law of nations and of religious worship, which Numa introduced, was derived from his nocturnal converse with the nymph Egeria.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon - Calypso, the nymph of Ogygia, who kept Odysseus (Ulysses) with her seven years, i , 113 .
— from De Officiis by Marcus Tullius Cicero - Go make thyself like a nymph o’ the sea: Be subject to no sight but thine and mine ; invisible To every eyeball else.
— from The Tempest by William Shakespeare - Fare thee well, nymph; ere he do leave this grove, Thou shalt fly him, and he shall seek thy love.
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare - THE NYMPH: (With a cry flees from him unveiled, her plaster cast cracking, a cloud of stench escaping from the cracks.) Poli...!
— from Ulysses by James Joyce - THE NYMPH: (Her features hardening, gropes in the folds of her habit.)
— from Ulysses by James Joyce
