Literary notes about Started (AI summary)
The word “started” in literature carries a rich variety of meanings, ranging from the literal initiation of physical movement to more abstract beginnings or sudden actions. In many texts, “started” signals the commencement of a journey or venture—as seen in characters setting out on a long trek ([1], [2], [3], [4])—or even the initiation of significant events, such as the mechanical whir of a train ([5], [6]) or the birth of an idea ([7]). Authors also employ “started” to convey sudden physical reactions or emotional shifts, evoking vivid images of abrupt motion or internal stirring—whether a startled leap ([8], [9], [10]) or tears welling up unexpectedly ([11], [12]). Even in more figurative or nuanced contexts, “started” marks the point at which intentions, actions, or experiences begin to unfold, encapsulating both the spontaneity of movement and the gravity of beginnings ([13], [14]).
- The next day he started for Saint-Polten (already evacuated by Hiller).
— from Napoleon's Letters to Josephine, 1796-1812 by Emperor of the French Napoleon I - Kanghi started from Peking on the 23rd of March, on the hunting-journey just referred to.
— from The Travels of Marco Polo — Volume 1 by Marco Polo and da Pisa Rusticiano - Looking at my watch, I saw that it was half-past two o'clock, and high time, therefore, that I started upon my homeward journey.
— from The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle - " The train started.
— from Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne - The engine was ready, the trucks were attached to the tender, and the train started.
— from The History of a Crime by Victor Hugo - The engine whistled and the train started.
— from Complete Original Short Stories of Guy De Maupassant by Guy de Maupassant - Actually, this is how the online world got started.
— from The Online World by Odd De Presno - Becoming abruptly aware that a fat kid in knickerbockers was at his elbow, he started violently.
— from Right Ho, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse - By an involuntary movement I started up in my bed, and drew back the curtain.
— from The Monk: A Romance by M. G. Lewis - Adam was seated with his back towards the door, but he started up and turned round instantly, with a flushed face and an eager look.
— from Adam Bede by George Eliot - He listened while the paroxysm of the child’s sobbing grew less and less; and tears of remorse started to his eyes.
— from Dubliners by James Joyce - Two tears started into his eyes and hung on his eyelashes.
— from Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - This, however, is not what I started out to write about.
— from Memoirs of General William T. Sherman — Complete by William T. Sherman - This being done, we hoisted jib and mainsail, kept full, and started boldly out to sea.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Edition by Edgar Allan Poe