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Literary notes about Quintessential (AI summary)

In literature, the word "quintessential" is employed to denote the purest, most concentrated embodiment of a quality or character. Writers use it to capture the irreplicable essence of an idea, as when intellect is distilled into the very blood of poetry [1], or when an emotion, however subtle, reveals its most profound and unadulterated form [2]. It also serves to highlight the defining core of a personality, artistic expression, or cultural ideal, whether in the depiction of a resolute, charismatic figure [3] or in celebrating the complete and unerring nature of artistic achievement [4]. In contexts ranging from philosophical meditations to character sketches and even critiques of societal constructs, "quintessential" stands as a marker of that which is most representative and foundational, conveying a sense that what remains is the true and lasting essence of the subject—a theme also echoed in reflections on spiritual and moral qualities [5] and in discussions of societal archetypes [6].
  1. A quintessential drop of intellect is apt to be in poetic blood.
    — from The Collected Poems of Rupert Brooke by Rupert Brooke
  2. How intensely one lives sometimes, even when there is little apparently to call forth quintessential emotion.
    — from William Sharp (Fiona Macleod): A Memoir Compiled by His Wife Elizabeth A. Sharp by Elizabeth A. (Elizabeth Amelia) Sharp
  3. She felt blasted by his renewed, torrential passion and the quintessential strength of his personality.
    — from Shadows of Flames: A Novel by Amélie Rives
  4. Tennyson’s short dramatic poems are quintessential; in a brief glimpse he contrives to reveal the whole man or woman.
    — from Eclectic Magazine of Foreign Literature, Science, and Art, April 1885 by Various
  5. And I had learned from Chinmoy and Atmananda that humility was the quintessential spiritual quality.
    — from Take Me for a Ride: Coming of Age in a Destructive Cult by Mark E. Laxer
  6. You should note the quintessential character of Christian chivalry in all his characters, but more especially in his women.
    — from The Literary Remains of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Volume 1 by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

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