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Literary notes about STRIFE (AI summary)

The term "strife" is employed across literary works to evoke both external and internal conflicts, often imbued with a heroic or tragic quality. In ancient epics, it describes the clashing of swords and the chaotic energy of battle [1], [2], while in mythic narratives it captures the discord among kin and even the gods [3], [4]. At the same time, writers use it to symbolize more subtle forms of tension—be they political rivalries, ideological debates, or the inner turmoil of human desire [5], [6]. Thus, "strife" becomes a versatile motif, serving as a powerful metaphor for the multifaceted struggles that underpin both epic adventures and the intricate workings of everyday life.
  1. [2] B. would render: Which, as I heard, excelled in stroke every sword that he carried to the strife, even the strongest (sword).
    — from Beowulf: An Anglo-Saxon Epic Poem
  2. Still he gloried in the strife and the battle working.
    — from The Story of Beowulf, Translated from Anglo-Saxon into Modern English Prose
  3. But that is worse, what I seem to know,—a strife of kinsmen for a woman.
    — from The Elder Eddas of Saemund Sigfusson; and the Younger Eddas of Snorre Sturleson by Sæmundur fróði
  4. Strife and hate to the Æsir's sons I bear, and will mix their mead with bale.
    — from The Elder Eddas of Saemund Sigfusson; and the Younger Eddas of Snorre Sturleson by Sæmundur fróði
  5. In such a life there is no peace, but a constant strife between the insistence of desire and the powerlessness of will.
    — from The Problems of Philosophy by Bertrand Russell
  6. "Fortune," he said, "had raised a strife for glory between the master and the slave.
    — from The Fables of La Fontaine by Jean de La Fontaine

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