Literary notes about Vault (AI summary)
The term vault in literature ranges from describing impressive architectural elements to symbolizing hidden or sacred spaces. It appears in discussions of structural design, as in references to the pointed arch and ribbed vaults that mark innovations in building techniques [1, 2, 3]. At the same time, vault often serves as a metaphor for the vast, celestial canopy overhead—an image that imbues the heavens with a sense of majesty and sometimes foreboding [4, 5, 6]. Additionally, the word is frequently employed to denote burial places or secret chambers, reflecting themes of remembrance, mystery, and finality in narratives [7, 8, 9, 10]. By bridging tangible construction with symbolic depth, vault enriches literary settings by evoking both the physical confines and the expansive, often enigmatic, realms of human experience [11, 12].
- Even when the pointed arch and vault had finally come into general use, the plan and the constructive system still remained predominantly Romanesque.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - The immense vault, in square bays, starts from the level of the tops of these arches.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - 108.—RIBBED VAULT, ENGLISH TYPE, WITH DIVIDED GROIN-RIBS AND RIDGE-RIBS.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - Had I your tongues and eyes, I’ld use them so That heaven’s vault should crack.
— from The Tragedy of King Lear by William Shakespeare - The tremendous vault above our heads, the sky, so to speak, appeared to be composed of a conglomeration of nebulous vapors, in constant motion.
— from A Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne - This vault of air, this congregated ball, Self-centred sun, and stars that rise and fall, There are, my friend!
— from An Essay on Man; Moral Essays and Satires by Alexander Pope - The nuns of the Petit-Picpus had made a vault under their grand altar for the burial of their community.
— from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo - In lowering the coffin.” “Where?” “Into the vault.” “What vault?” “Under the altar.” Fauchelevent started.
— from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo - In April, 1509, Henry died, and was placed beside his Queen, Elizabeth of York, in the great vault beneath the chapel floor.
— from Little Folks (September 1884) by Various - The lady was deposited in her family vault, which, for three subsequent years, was undisturbed.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Edition by Edgar Allan Poe - He peered in; it was evidently a secret vault—some hiding place of the old bank unknown in newer times.
— from Darkwater: Voices from Within the Veil by W. E. B. Du Bois - "The vault of heaven is above me everywhere," he says, "and what do I want more?"
— from Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen by H. C. Andersen
