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Literary notes about Precursor (AI summary)

The word "precursor" in literature is employed to signify an antecedent that heralds or prefigures significant events, characters, or innovations. It often portrays a formative moment or character that sets the stage for what follows, whether it be in the natural world or in human affairs. For instance, a looming cloud might be depicted as the precursor to a storm, implying imminent change ([1]), while an early figure may be portrayed as a precursor to a later luminary, suggesting a foundational influence in cultural or intellectual history ([2]). Sometimes, the term is used in a more tangible manner, describing something that literally comes before and prepares the way for what is to emerge ([3], [4]). Overall, its usage enriches a narrative by linking past conditions or actions with future developments.
  1. Here arose the first cloud over my Baltimore prospects, the precursor of drenching rains and chilling blasts.
    — from My Bondage and My Freedom by Frederick Douglass
  2. He was thus in some respects a precursor of Dante.
    — from The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri: The Inferno by Dante Alighieri
  3. In 1718, the French chemist Etienne Geoffroy published a table of affinities among chemical substances, a precursor to the periodic table of elements.
    — from Our Legal Heritage: King AEthelbert - King George III, 600 A.D. - 1776 by S. A. Reilly
  4. Plentiful traces are yet visible of the rugged old hollow lane that was the precursor of the present road.
    — from The Brighton Road: The Classic Highway to the South by Charles G. (Charles George) Harper

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