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Literary notes about Recital (AI summary)

In literature, the word "recital" is employed to denote the act of narrating or performing a sequence of events, often imbuing the narrative with a dramatic or formal tone. Authors use it not only to describe a simple recounting of facts, as when characters listen to stories or accounts of past exploits [1], [2], but also to highlight the performative and sometimes ritualistic aspect of narration, as seen in recountings that alternately evoke humor and tension [3], [4]. Its use can range from a casual narration of personal adventures [5] and intimate recollections [6] to a grand, almost ceremonial listing of declarations or events, underpinning the structure of official records [7], [8]. In some narratives, the recital becomes an integral part of the scene, capable of influencing characters’ emotions and actions, whether by engaging a captive audience in royal courts or stirring passionate responses among friends and foes alike [9], [10]. Overall, "recital" functions as a bridge between speech and performance, enriching storytelling by emphasizing both the content of the narrative and the manner in which it is delivered.
  1. “As for me,” replied Athos to this recital, “I am quite at my ease; it will not be women that will defray the expense of my outfit.”
    — from The three musketeers by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet
  2. “And now,” said Cyrus Harding, as he ended his recital, “a duty remains for us to perform.
    — from The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne
  3. ”—“I beseech you,” cried she, “do not run through the odious recital.—Answer me but one question, and I shall be easy.
    — from History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding
  4. The lay was concluded, The gleeman’s recital.
    — from Beowulf: An Anglo-Saxon Epic Poem
  5. It was indeed very great, and the recital of my adventures did not astonish them less than my unexpected presence.
    — from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova
  6. It is not without reason that I have been diffuse in the recital of all the circumstances I have been able to recollect.
    — from The Confessions of Jean Jacques Rousseau — Complete by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
  7. After him, King Henry I. confirmed the same by his charter to the like effect, the recital whereof I pretermit for brevity.
    — from The Survey of London by John Stow
  8. Nothing is more natural nor common than first to use a general phrase, and then to explain and qualify it by a recital of particulars.
    — from The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton and John Jay and James Madison
  9. She was not sorry, however, to have the recital of them interrupted by the entrance of the lady from whom they sprung.
    — from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
  10. Then the arrival of Vyasa and recital by him of the glory of Krishna and Arjuna.
    — from The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 1

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