Literary notes about PACE (AI summary)
In literature, the word "pace" is a multifaceted device that can delineate physical distance, the rhythm of travel, and even internal states of emotion. It is sometimes employed as a unit of measurement—a geometric pace defined by the outstretched arms [1]—while in other instances it vividly illustrates a character’s agitation or determination, as seen when someone paces up and down a room in a display of restlessness [2] or quickens their pace in moments of urgency [3]. At times it conveys the steady progress of history or the natural world, maintaining an even cadence that reflects both literal and metaphorical journeys [4] [5]. This range of usage allows pace to serve as both a marker of physical distance and a subtle indicator of time and mood throughout narrative works.
- [B], not less in diameter than that measure of the outstretched arms which is commonly called a geometric pace.
— from The Travels of Marco Polo — Volume 1 by Marco Polo and da Pisa Rusticiano - At last he got up and began to pace up and down the room, looking like a beautiful caged thing.
— from The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - The man in black did not utter a syllable; he held her firmly, and set out again at a quicker pace.
— from Notre-Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo - Our pen, therefore, shall imitate the expedition which it describes, and our history shall keep pace with the travellers who are its subject.
— from History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding - If it keeps on at this pace long, it will stop us altogether."
— from The Country of the Blind, and Other Stories by H. G. Wells
