Literary notes about amain (AI summary)
The term "amain" is consistently employed in literature to evoke a sense of vigorous, unrelenting action or movement. Poets and playwrights alike use it to intensify scenes of rapid motion or forceful attack, whether describing sudden bursts of nature or the dynamic charge of warriors. For instance, it is used to illustrate swift retreats and advances in battle, as seen when a champion flees in terror or when troops surge into conflict ([1], [2], [3]). Its vigorous quality can also be found in depictions of natural phenomena, where elements like hail or water descend rapidly and powerfully ([4], [5]). Moreover, the word often punctuates pivotal moments in epic narratives, lending a rhythmic emphasis to unfolding events in works by Shakespeare, Milton, and others ([6], [7], [8]).
- The Danish champion; and amain, With terror smitten, fled his men.
— from Heimskringla; Or, The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway by Snorri Sturluson - And to the fray he rode amain, Followed by all the archer train.
— from Marmion: A Tale Of Flodden Field by Walter Scott - The Trojans fled; the fire pursued amain, Still gath’ring fast upon the trembling train;
— from The Aeneid by Virgil - Sudden a flash, and from th' enormous den Th' eruption's lurid mass bursts forth amain, Bounding in frantic ecstasy.
— from Poems by Victor Hugo - Huge hail, and water sombre-hued, and snow, Athwart the tenebrous air pour down amain; Noisome the earth is, that receiveth this.
— from Divine Comedy, Longfellow's Translation, Hell by Dante Alighieri - Great lords, from Ireland am I come amain To signify that rebels there are up And put the Englishmen unto the sword.
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare - The ship is under sail, and here she comes amain.
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare - What when we fled amain, pursu’d and strook With Heav’ns afflicting Thunder, and besought The Deep to shelter us?
— from Paradise Lost by John Milton
