Literary notes about Tantalize (AI summary)
In literature, “tantalize” is employed to evoke a sense of both alluring promise and excruciating denial. Authors use it to suggest the act of inviting desire only to withhold its fulfillment, as in passages where characters are simultaneously drawn and tormented by the prospect of what they cannot have [1, 2, 3]. The term oscillates between mild teasing—illustrated by a flirtatious beckoning or light provocation [4, 5]—and a more profound torment that mirrors the eternal punishment of its mythological namesake [6]. It is also used to color everyday experiences with a hint of bittersweet irony, such as the aroma of coffee drawing one’s attention only to remind of an unattainable comfort [7]. Through these varied applications, “tantalize” enriches narratives by encapsulating the emotional tension of hope and the pain of perpetual longing.
- It is in vain to tempt, to tantalize us with the lower prices of European fabrics than our own, if we have nothing wherewith to purchase them.
— from American Eloquence, Volume 4 Studies In American Political History (1897) - "Why tantalize me with such visions?" cried Prue.
— from The Imprudence of Prue by Sophie Fisher - (Hence our word tantalize , meaning to torment by holding out hopes or prospects which cannot be realized.)
— from The Circle of Knowledge: A Classified, Simplified, Visualized Book of Answers - Campbell: "To tantalize me with your loveliness, your beauty, your grace, Amy!"
— from Five O'Clock Tea: Farce by William Dean Howells - "You'll not catch me," thought Humphrey; "and your guns are not loaded, so I'll tantalize you a little."
— from The Children of the New Forest by Frederick Marryat - This singular punishment inflicted upon Tantalus gave rise to the expression “to tantalize.”
— from Myths of Greece and RomeNarrated with Special Reference to Literature and Art by H. A. (Hélène Adeline) Guerber - The smell of coffee floated down the corridor to tantalize him.
— from A Man Obsessed by Alan Edward Nourse
