Literary notes about Recitation (AI summary)
The term "recitation" has been employed in literature with a versatile range of meanings, reflecting both formal and casual contexts. In some works it denotes a solemn ritual—a religious or ceremonial reproduction of sacred texts or rites, as seen in depictions of liturgies or Vedic texts [1][2][3][4]. In other instances, authors use it to indicate a public or educational performance, whether as a dramatic interlude that disrupts a gathering [5][6] or as part of pedagogical methods designed to engage students and shape thought [7][8][9][10]. Even within casual conversation, the word serves to underscore the measured, sometimes affectionate, delivery of words, as when a character’s tone of obedient recitation reveals subtle emotional undercurrents [11][12]. This multi-layered usage highlights the term’s adaptability across genres—from sacred ceremony and formal instruction to theatrical performance and everyday dialogue [13][14][15].
- Here, as on castellated walls, should stand the watchman, who, by the recitation of the sacred liturgies, would keep watch and ward.
— from The Religions of Japan, from the Dawn of History to the Era of Méiji by William Elliot Griffis - What is called Samhara Hōmam (sacred fire) is kept up, and an image of the dead man in silver or gold is purified by the recitation of holy mantrams.
— from Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 7 of 7 by Edgar Thurston - They are short manuals containing directions for Vedic recitation and correct pronunciation.
— from A History of Sanskrit Literature by Arthur Anthony Macdonell - Their chief object was to ensure the right recitation and interpretation of the sacred text.
— from A History of Sanskrit Literature by Arthur Anthony Macdonell - He is listened to, but he has only delivered a few lines when a waltz is heard from the front room, and the recitation is stopped.
— from Plays by Anton Chekhov, Second Series by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - The next morning he met Burne hurrying along McCosh walk after a recitation.
— from This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald - FIFTEEN THE RECITATION AND THE TRAINING OF THOUGHT Importance of the recitation
— from How We Think by John Dewey - The accumulation and acquisition of information for purposes of reproduction in recitation and examination is made too much of.
— from Democracy and Education: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education by John Dewey - In the recitation the teacher comes into his closest contact with the pupil.
— from How We Think by John Dewey - In the recitation focus the possibilities of guiding children's activities, influencing their language habits, and directing their observations.
— from How We Think by John Dewey - I mean, Recitation.
— from The Art of Public Speaking by Dale Carnegie and J. Berg Esenwein - " "It is all true, Fred, and I am happy because of it—because I love you best," said Mary, in a tone of obedient recitation.
— from Middlemarch by George Eliot - Let me conclude by—the recitation of yet another brief poem—one very different in character from any that I have before quoted.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Edition by Edgar Allan Poe - But Aglaya evidently thoroughly enjoyed the affectation and ceremony with which she was introducing her recitation of the poem.
— from The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - You were the lion of the night with your seriocomic recitation and you looked the part.
— from Ulysses by James Joyce
