Literary notes about Protract (AI summary)
The term "protract" has been used in literature to denote an intentional extension or delay of a particular action or state, often with significant consequences. For example, in Henry Fielding's work, it is applied to strategic military decisions, emphasizing the peril of unnecessarily prolonging a siege when the enemy is near [1]. In the realm of personal emotion and tension, Charles Dickens employs "protract" to highlight the exacerbation of mental uneasiness, implying that certain discomforts can persist longer than desired [2]. Meanwhile, in Emily Brontë's narrative, the term suggests that a guest's prolonged stay might lead to unwanted complications during the evening [3], and Victor Hugo uses it to illustrate the shrewd manipulation of political time, where delaying the inevitable could result in critical losses during a coup [4].
- It would be bad politics, indeed,” added she, “to protract a siege when the enemy's army is at hand, and in danger of relieving it.
— from History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding - That would protract the mental uneasiness of Mr Venus too long, he said.
— from Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens - Their guest did not protract his stay that evening above an hour longer.
— from Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë - It was certain that if they could protract the situation in which the coup d'état had thrown Paris until the next week, Louis Bonaparte was lost.
— from The History of a Crime by Victor Hugo
