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Literary notes about Requital (AI summary)

The term “requital” appears in literature as a multifaceted concept, often used to denote a response—whether of gratitude, compensation, or retribution—to a preceding act. In poetic and dramatic works, such as those by Shakespeare, it is evoked to accentuate the reciprocal nature of love and duty, suggesting that kindness be met with a fitting return [1, 2]. Epic narratives also employ the term to signify a measured balancing of deeds, as in the grim retribution exacted in heroic contexts [3, 4], while philosophical and ethical writings use it to explore themes of justice and equity, implying that every action carries its own due by nature [5, 6, 7]. This layered use enriches the narrative texture, underlining that the response to an action, whether tender or harsh, is an intrinsic component of the human experience.
  1. O, take his mother's thanks, a widow's thanks, Till your strong hand shall help to give him strength To make a more requital to your love!
    — from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
  2. Thank you, good Pompey; and, in requital of your prophecy, hark you: I advise you, let me not find you before me again upon any complaint whatsoever-
    — from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
  3. Then if one of the Frisians the quarrel should speak of In tones that were taunting, terrible edges Should cut in requital.
    — from Beowulf: An Anglo-Saxon Epic Poem
  4. The Lord, in requital, Wielder of Glory, with world-honor blessed him.
    — from Beowulf: An Anglo-Saxon Epic Poem
  5. The conception of requital implies that of time; therefore eternal justice cannot be requital.
    — from The World as Will and Idea (Vol. 1 of 3) by Arthur Schopenhauer
  6. The noble soul gives as he takes, prompted by the passionate and sensitive instinct of requital, which is at the root of his nature.
    — from Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
  7. Ἀμοιβή, ῆς, ἡ, (ἀμείβω, ἀμείβομαι, to requite) requital; of kind offices, recompence, 1 Ti. 5.4.
    — from A Greek-English Lexicon to the New Testament by William Greenfield

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