Literary notes about Recur (AI summary)
The term "recur" is employed in literature with a variety of nuanced meanings, ranging from the literal repetition of an event to the metaphorical return of a memory or idea. Authors use it to signal that certain memories or points are being invoked again, as when memories of dark scenes reappear in a tragedy [1] or when an argument is revisited for clarity [2]. It also denotes the inevitable return of natural phenomena or conditions—such as a fever manifesting at intervals [3] or repeated sensory experiences [4]—while also serving to connect past occurrences with present and future reflections, as seen in discussions of persistent emotions or intellectual themes [5][6]. In essence, "recur" acts as both a narrative device and a conceptual tool, linking different moments in time and thought within a literary work.
- It is remarkable that almost all the scenes which at once recur to memory take place either at night or in some dark spot.
— from Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth by A. C. Bradley - Although this topic has been amply discussed elsewhere, it may not be uninstructive to recur to it again.
— from Know the Truth: A Critique on the Hamiltonian Theory of Limitation by Jesse Henry Jones - The fever was not as yet very high, but it soon appeared that it would probably recur at regular intervals.
— from The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne - Once or twice when she heard sounds, she put out her hand and touched the bell; but the sounds did not recur.
— from The Best Short Stories of 1917, and the Yearbook of the American Short Story - The idea of never seeing Marius again had never entered his brain until that day; now the thought began to recur to him, and it chilled him.
— from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo - You must forgive my silence on the subject, but my thoughts recur to it constantly.
— from The Letters of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — Volume 01 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
