Literary notes about Task (AI summary)
In literature, “task” is employed as a multifaceted term that can denote everything from a personal burden of responsibility to a larger, symbolic quest. It might represent a solitary challenge demanding deep reflection, as when a character meditates upon the duty ahead of him [1], or it can signify a collective measure of striving, such as bridging an obstacle essential to a broader expedition [2]. At times it describes the mundane or laborious efforts undertaken daily, as in the careful execution of a routine chore [3], while in other instances it encapsulates a high calling that tests one’s courage and wisdom through a formidable trial [4]. Whether calling attention to the inner resolve required to surmount personal difficulties or framing the more tangible work necessary to advance a larger cause [5], the term “task” thus reinforces the intricate interplay between duty, challenge, and personal growth in narrative art.
- He sat long over his solitary cup of tea, smoking his meerschaum pipe, and meditating darkly upon the task that lay before him.
— from Lady Audley's Secret by M. E. Braddon - "[31] Yule's share in this campaign was limited to the sufficiently arduous task of bridging the Sutlej for the advance of the British army.
— from The Travels of Marco Polo — Volume 1 by Marco Polo and da Pisa Rusticiano - So we locked the tomb and came away, and got over the wall of the churchyard, which was not much of a task, and drove back to Piccadilly.
— from Dracula by Bram Stoker - This is not an easy task, and this, if there be such an art, is the art of rhetoric.
— from Phaedrus by Plato - I arrived here yesterday; and my first task is to assure my dear sister of my welfare, and increasing confidence in the success of my undertaking.
— from Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
