Literary notes about Prolepsis (AI summary)
In literature, prolepsis is employed with a range of nuances, both as a structural device and a metaphorical concept. It sometimes functions as an anticipatory element that hints at future events or states, as seen when it is used to prefigure a significant moment or development [1]. Other texts invoke prolepsis to underscore a conceptual leap or the idea of inherent destiny, such as in the portrayal of a soul reaching upward toward its ultimate source [2]. Additionally, the term has been invoked in discussions that align it with notions of anachronism, thereby highlighting its role in dislocating temporal boundaries [3]. This versatility in usage underscores prolepsis’s enduring appeal in literary expression.
- An instance of prolepsis, or "anticipation" in the use of a word.
— from The Lady of the Lake by Walter Scott - It was a prolepsis of the soul, reaching upward towards its source and goal.
— from Christianity and Greek Philosophy or, the relation between spontaneous and reflective thought in Greece and the positive teaching of Christ and His Apostles by B. F. (Benjamin Franklin) Cocker - If this Inference be not something like an Anachronism or Prolepsis , I'll look once more into my Lexicons for the true Meaning of the Words.
— from Eighteenth Century Essays on Shakespeare by David Nichol Smith
