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Literary notes about THOU (AI summary)

The word "thou" is deployed by many authors to confer an archaic, intimate, or formal quality to their narratives. In sacred writings, it underscores divine commands and solemn decrees, as seen in passages that caution or command with an elevated tone ([1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6]). In dramatic and romantic discourses, particularly in the works of Shakespeare and other classical authors, "thou" heightens personal address and emotional intensity, lending a lyrical or even confrontational edge to dialogue ([7], [8], [9], [10]). Moreover, epic narratives and mythic tales utilize "thou" to bridge the gap between the mundane and the transcendent, imbuing the text with both ritualistic gravitas and a timeless quality ([11], [12], [13], [14]).
  1. for the fearfulness of thy heart, wherewith thou shalt be terrified, and for those things which thou shalt see with thy eyes.
    — from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete
  2. Thou shalt not pass by if thou seest thy brother's ox, or his sheep go astray: but thou shalt bring them back to thy brother.
    — from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete
  3. Thou shalt prepare also dishes, and bowls, censers, and cups, wherein the libations are to be offered, of the purest gold.
    — from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete
  4. And Peter remembered the word that Jesus had said unto him: Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt thrice deny me.
    — from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete
  5. Thou shalt eat it in the sanctuary: the males only shall eat thereof, because it is a consecrated thing to thee.
    — from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete
  6. Thou shalt make also two bars for the altar, of setim wood, which thou shalt cover with plates of brass: 27:7.
    — from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete
  7. Come to me, Tyrrel, soon at after supper, When thou shalt tell the process of their death.
    — from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
  8. Do thou but close our hands with holy words, Then love-devouring death do what he dare, It is enough I may but call her mine.
    — from Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
  9. Thou seest these lovers seek a place to fight.
    — from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
  10. Hadst thou been kill'd when first thou didst presume,
    — from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
  11. As Ráma still his prayer denied With soothing words, again he cried: “When leave at first thou didst accord, Why dost thou stay me now, my lord?
    — from The Rámáyan of Válmíki, translated into English verse by Valmiki
  12. Alas, O Krishna, (Draupadi), why dost thou leave me so?
    — from The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 1
  13. But if thou refuse to do what I supplicate thee for, O Dushmanta, thy head this moment shall burst into a hundred pieces!
    — from The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 1
  14. But, now thou knowest my drift, thou wilt resume thine own original plan, wilt thou not?—Thou hast nothing, thou seest, to fear from my interference.”
    — from Ivanhoe: A Romance by Walter Scott

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