Literary notes about Sham (AI summary)
In literature, "sham" is often deployed to underscore insincerity and the deceptive nature of appearances. Authors utilize the term to designate situations or behaviors that mimic authenticity yet remain hollow in substance, such as a "sham tragedy on the stage" [1] or the feigned delivery of sweet news [2]. Its usage spans depictions of feigned valor, empty traditions, and contrived rituals—ranging from the subtle moral decay witnessed in societal institutions [3] to the artificial pomp of ceremonial practices like a sham siege [4]. In this way, "sham" becomes a versatile shorthand for critiquing the disparity between outward semblance and inner truth.
- The real woe of this event passed before her sight as some sham tragedy on the stage.
— from The Piazza Tales by Herman Melville - Though news be sad, yet tell them merrily; If good, thou sham’st the music of sweet news
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare - A study of Nietzsche reveals the sources of much that was honest in him, and exposes the hollowness of much that was sham.
— from The Antichrist by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche - The General Commandant of the School decides in a Council of Instruction on the dispositions to be adopted for the project of a sham siege.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson
