Literary notes about Warp (AI summary)
In literature, the word "warp" operates on both a literal and metaphorical level. Literally, it refers to the strong, lengthwise threads in woven fabrics that form the framework for the weft, as seen in technical descriptions of textiles [1][2][3][4]. Metaphorically, "warp" is employed to illustrate distortion or an underlying structure that influences broader themes—ranging from the manipulation of human faculties and ideals to the fabric of society itself [5][6][7]. At times it even evokes the notion of personal destiny being intricately woven from one’s own unalterable threads [8][9]. This versatile use enriches literary language by linking tangible craftsmanship with abstract concepts of change, strength, and the impact of external forces.
- It is embroidered with flowers of scarlet, and purple, and blue, and fine twined linen, but the warp was nothing but fine linen.
— from Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus - The two series of threads which are interlaced receive the technical terms of warp and weft--in poetical language, warp and woof.
— from The Jute Industry: From Seed to Finished Cloth by Thomas Woodhouse - The warp consists of nine long strands sewed through the inner face of the leather so as to come out on the hinder edge.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - The warp is stretched on a rude wooden frame, and this warp is either wool, linen, or cotton.
— from The Oriental Rug by William De Lancey Ellwanger - Otherwise it would not cease to repress and warp human faculties.
— from The Life of Reason: The Phases of Human Progress by George Santayana - Cursed be the social lies that warp us from the living truth!
— from The Early Poems of Alfred Lord Tennyson by Baron Alfred Tennyson Tennyson - Or, to use a Platonic image, justice and the State are the warp and the woof which run through the whole texture.
— from The Republic of Plato by Plato - It puts us under a divine spell to perceive that we are all coworkers with the great men, and yet single threads in the warp and woof of civilization.
— from The Art of Public Speaking by Dale Carnegie and J. Berg Esenwein - This warp seemed necessity; and here, thought I, with my own hand I ply my own shuttle and weave my own destiny into these unalterable threads.
— from Moby Dick; Or, The Whale by Herman Melville
