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Literary notes about Plainly (AI summary)

The word plainly functions in literature as a marker of clarity and unambiguous communication. Authors use it both to denote the obvious character of descriptions and to stress the directness of a statement. In some passages, it enhances the depiction of physical attributes or straightforward actions, as when clothing is described in a matter-of-fact way [1] or a person's presence is noted without pretense [2]. In other contexts, it reinforces the unmistakable nature of a claim or point, making abstract or complex ideas more accessible, for instance in discussions of historical or philosophical assertions [3] and even in the articulation of emotional states [4]. This versatile use effectively cuts through elaboration, signaling that what follows is to be understood in its simplest and most direct form [5].
  1. Like Marcy, he was large and muscular, although with a face of more refinement; like Marcy, too, he dressed plainly.
    — from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson
  2. In going towards the door, I passed the person who had come in, and saw him plainly.
    — from David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
  3. Must we not admit that the Political Science plainly does not stand on a similar footing to that of other sciences and faculties?
    — from The Ethics of Aristotle by Aristotle
  4. The situation was not comfortable—in truth, to speak plainly, it was frightful.
    — from Roughing It by Mark Twain
  5. It tells one story, and a sufficient one; for it says quite plainly and satisfactorily, 'Here are Lee and Jackson together.'
    — from Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain

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