Literary notes about Retribution (AI summary)
In literature, retribution emerges as a multifaceted concept that both reinforces moral order and intensifies dramatic tension. Authors employ it to signify the inevitable settling of accounts, whether as divine justice, as seen in ancient accounts of fate [1][2], or as the personal vengeance that propels characters into action [3][4]. It functions not only as the measure of an offender’s debt to society but also as a symbol of cosmic balance, where every transgression is eventually met with its due consequence [5][6]. This portrayal of retribution underscores an enduring belief in a moral universe, where justice is inescapable and ever-present.
- Thus did retribution for the murder of Polycrates the Samian overtake Oroites.
— from The History of Herodotus — Volume 1 by Herodotus - But I believe in the just law of retribution, as taught in the holy scriptures.
— from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda - What would you have—what is it you came to demand—Retribution?—It will soon be yours—it is yours already.
— from The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Ward Radcliffe - Vengeance and retribution require a long time; it is the rule.”
— from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens - The moral idea seems lacking, the sense of destiny, of retribution.
— from Ulysses by James Joyce - A great outrage had been followed by a great retribution.
— from Lays of Ancient Rome by Baron Thomas Babington Macaulay Macaulay
