Literary notes about Opening (AI summary)
The word "opening" in literature functions as a versatile motif that bridges the literal and the figurative. It often evokes the image of a physical threshold—a door, an entrance, or even a gateway—providing passage from one state to another, as when a door is swung aside to reveal what lies beyond [1][2] or a narrow gap offers a glimpse into a room [3]. Beyond its tangible implications, "opening" frequently marks the inception of ideas or phases in a narrative. It can introduce a work through initial lines that set the tone [4][5][6], signal the start of an important venture or period, such as the beginning of a shop or a new act in a play [7][8], or even symbolize the natural unfolding of life through motifs like budding flowers [9] or the gradual emergence of thought [10][11]. This dual capacity to denote both concrete passage and conceptual beginnings enriches literary language by inviting readers to explore transitional moments on various levels.
- He seized the lock, turned the key, and opening the door, saw his wife and Limousin standing before him on the stairs.
— from Complete Original Short Stories of Guy De Maupassant by Guy de Maupassant - Opening the door, he glided inside, leaving the door ajar.
— from Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy - At last his father and mother were aroused by it, and ran to the room and looked in through the opening in the door.
— from Grimm's Fairy Stories by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm - It is thus that the tragedy of Menalippus originally began, but the clamour of the Athenians compelled Euripides to change these opening lines.
— from Emile by Jean-Jacques Rousseau - These opening bars he sang and translated extempore .
— from Ulysses by James Joyce - (2) Pay special attention to the opening sentence.
— from Helps to Latin Translation at Sight by Edmund Luce - M. Baret will be able to come and sleep with you every night, and start early enough in the morning to be in time for the opening of his shop.”
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova - At the opening of the Second Act we see him with Fleance crossing the court of the castle on his way to bed.
— from Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth by A. C. Bradley - And she turned to spring and the opening buds.
— from The Rainbow by D. H. Lawrence - It is the infant Thought of man opening itself, with awe and wonder, on this ever-stupendous Universe.
— from On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History by Thomas Carlyle - If another and a better future is opening, let us see it and rejoice in it as a new gift of Providence.
— from History of Woman Suffrage, Volume I