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Literary notes about TROLL (AI summary)

In literature the term troll is used to evoke a creature of formidable and often supernatural power, one that can be both grotesque and menacing as well as metaphorically rich in symbolism. Many narratives depict trolls as multi-headed monsters launching violent attacks or posing dire threats to heroes—for instance, a three-headed beast charging from the woods [1] or a creature whose presence alone endangers lives [2, 3, 4]. At times the word extends beyond its literal monster, serving as a playful metaphor or even a descriptor in everyday language, as when it refers to fishing or witty banter [5, 6, 7, 8]. This varied usage underscores how the figure of the troll embodies untamed forces in nature and the uncanny, while also providing a vehicle for subtle humor and cultural commentary.
  1. Very soon afterwards they came to the end of the wood, and the Troll with three heads came rushing up to them.
    — from The Red Fairy Book
  2. The Princess begged him very prettily to go lest the Troll should devour him; but Halvor said, ‘Let him come when he will.’
    — from The Red Fairy Book
  3. Then he grasped his sword and struck at the Troll, so that all his ten heads danced away over the sands.
    — from The Red Fairy Book
  4. It will now cost us a battle for life or death, for this Troll has six heads and is twice as strong as the other, but do be careful to keep the leaf.’
    — from The Red Fairy Book
  5. The whole crowd took turns at rowing, and when the lake was reached Sam and Hans got out their fishing outfits and started to troll.
    — from The Rover Boys Down East; or, The Struggle for the Stanhope Fortune by Edward Stratemeyer
  6. Thou makest me merry; I am full of pleasure: Let us be jocund: will you troll the catch You taught me but while-ere?
    — from The Tempest by William Shakespeare
  7. Let us be jocund; will you troll the catch You taught me but while-ere?
    — from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
  8. V. rotate; roll along; revolve, spin; turn round; circumvolve[obs3]; circulate; gyre, gyrate, wheel, whirl, pirouette; twirl, trundle, troll, bowl.
    — from Roget's Thesaurus by Peter Mark Roget

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