Literary notes about Prattle (AI summary)
In literature, "prattle" is employed to evoke a range of meanings—from the light, cheerful banter of children to the tedious, often foolhardy chatter of adults. In some works, it captures the innocent babble of youth that endears and comforts, as when a child casually narrates life’s simple observations ([1], [2], [3]). Conversely, certain authors use the term to highlight the empty or overly ornate discourse of characters, emphasizing its triviality or even serving as a subtle critique of superficiality ([4], [5], [6]). This versatility allows "prattle" to function both as a symbol of unbridled, charming conversation and as a marker for vacuous, unproductive talk, thereby enriching the texture of the narrative ([7], [8]).
- And the child made an end of his repast, closed his dark blue eyes, bent down his beautiful head, and listened to the sweet prattle.
— from Child Life in Prose - She took off their cloaks, and listened to their childish prattle about their teachers and the day's lessons.
— from Yiddish Tales - Now it was a children's party, and there was children's prattle, which always is spoken freely from the heart.
— from Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen by H. C. Andersen - These lords perhaps do scorn our estimates, And think we prattle with distemper'd spirits:
— from Tamburlaine the Great — Part 1 by Christopher Marlowe - Mere prattle without practice Is all his soldiership.
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare - bound in thy rosy band, Let sage or cynic prattle as he will, These hours, and only these, redeemed Life's years of ill! LXXXII.
— from Childe Harold's Pilgrimage by Baron George Gordon Byron Byron - Her mother is often vexed at this, and would stop her prattle, but I would not.
— from The Hungry Stones, and Other Stories by Rabindranath Tagore - I would he had some cause To prattle for himself.
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
