Literary notes about Strength (AI summary)
Across a wide range of literary works, "strength" conveys multiple dimensions beyond mere muscle or force. It is portrayed as a celestial or natural power, as when the sun's dazzling might is depicted with almost sentient grandeur [1] or invoked in ancient imagery to bestow superhuman qualities [2]. At the same time, strength often symbolizes inner resolve and capacity for endurance, from the fatigue of continual demands on one's spirit [3] to the resurgence of inner vigor found in moments of deep emotional or moral challenge [4, 5]. Moreover, the term spans both physical might—as seen in descriptions of robust warriors and mighty armies [6, 7]—and the more subtle empowerment of the human soul in the face of suffering or weakness [8, 9]. Thus, literature employs "strength" to articulate a rich interplay between physical power, emotional resilience, and spiritual fortitude [10, 11, 12].
- The sun rejoices in his strength, dazzling and burning, and yet, to me, never unpleasantly weakening.
— from Complete Prose Works by Walt Whitman - A certain image of Apollo, which stood in a sacred cave at Hylae near Magnesia, was thought to impart superhuman strength.
— from The Golden Bough: A Study of Magic and Religion by James George Frazer - I am weary of this continual call upon me for strength.
— from North and South by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell - It seemed to her as if strength poured into her in electric streams, from every gentle touch and movement of the sleeping, confiding child.
— from Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe - Thy strength, Hester; but let it be guided by the will which God hath granted me!
— from The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne - And winning them over to his side, the son of Kunti, possessed of great strength, marched against Magadha.
— from The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 1 - And now on the very goal Cloanthus alone is left; him he pursues and presses hard, straining all his strength.
— from The Aeneid of Virgil by Virgil - Benjamin reached New York safely, and concluded to stop there until he had gained strength enough to proceed further.
— from Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself by Harriet A. Jacobs - When I recovered strength enough, I faced the wall again.
— from The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain - (Mine be the strength of spirit fierce and free.)
— from The Early Poems of Alfred Lord Tennyson by Baron Alfred Tennyson Tennyson - elicious sense of strength and buoyancy, and the exercise makes my pulses dance and my heart sing.
— from The Story of My Life by Helen Keller - He was now a very energetic man indeed, with great firmness of purpose, strength of resolution, and vigour of action.
— from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens