Literary notes about Pyre (AI summary)
The term pyre is deployed in literature as a rich emblem of both ritualistic ceremony and symbolic transformation. It frequently appears as the burning platform for the dead, evoking themes of honor, sacrifice, and religious observance, as seen in works where heroic or tragic souls are consigned to flames [1, 2, 3]. In epic narratives, a pyre is more than a mere structure—it becomes a potent metaphor for the transition between life and death, encapsulating the passage to an afterlife or even the purification of an entire society [4, 5, 6]. Sometimes, its imagery extends to scenes of punishment or self-immolation, thereby emphasizing the dramatic or moral weight of a character's fate [7, 8, 9]. Overall, the pyre stands out as a multi-layered symbol that not only marks the end of mortal life but also hints at rebirth and the enduring power of myth.
- cp. p. 77, in description of Hnaef’s funeral pyre.
— from The Story of Beowulf, Translated from Anglo-Saxon into Modern English Prose - A great funeral-pyre is built, and his body is burnt.
— from Beowulf: An Anglo-Saxon Epic Poem - Then Hildeburh commanded her very own son to be thrust in the flames of the pyre of Hnaef, his body to be burned and be put in the fire.
— from The Story of Beowulf, Translated from Anglo-Saxon into Modern English Prose - Then when the child of morning, rosy-fingered dawn, appeared on the eleventh day, the people again assembled, round the pyre of mighty Hector.
— from The Iliad by Homer - Then flashed the giant's eye with fire Like that which lights the funeral pyre.
— from The Rámáyan of Válmíki, translated into English verse by Valmiki - Then from the pyre, like flame that glows Undimmed by cloudy smoke, he rose, In garments pure of spot or speck, A heavenly wreath about his neck.
— from The Rámáyan of Válmíki, translated into English verse by Valmiki - Meantime a funeral pyre for the purpose of burning Miller to death had been erected in the center of the village.
— from The Red Record by Ida B. Wells-Barnett - Being condemned to death, the straw-man is led through the village, shot, and burned upon a pyre.
— from The Golden Bough: A Study of Magic and Religion by James George Frazer - He threw himself upon the pyre, and was consumed like a log of wood, together with the chamber.
— from The Geography of Strabo, Volume 3 (of 3) by Strabo
