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Literary notes about apprehension (AI summary)

In literature, apprehension is a multifaceted term that conveys both a tangible sense of fear and a more abstract grasp of understanding. In some works, it describes a calculated wariness in the face of imminent danger or strategic retreat—such as when Xenophon’s narrative hints at repositioning to keep a river at bay [1] or Sherman’s account of a military flank [2]. In other contexts, it embodies a lingering anxiety about personal or social threats, capturing emotional and psychological turmoil, as seen when characters confront familial disease and separation [3] or when a mother watches her daughter with nervous admiration [4]. Moreover, apprehension also serves as a metaphor for the rapid cognitive process of acquiring knowledge, a mental acuity noted in the discussions of literature and art [5]. Whether used to illustrate the dread of future calamities or the sudden realization of a new idea, the term enriches the narrative by intertwining fear, caution, and understanding, thereby deepening the reader’s engagement with both the concrete and abstract elements of the human experience.
  1. In this apprehension they determined to extend their line and place the river on their rear.
    — from Anabasis by Xenophon
  2. We have repulsed two heavy attacks, and feel confident, our only apprehension being from our extreme right flank.
    — from Memoirs of General William T. Sherman — Complete by William T. Sherman
  3. She saw her children: the everlasting apprehension of colds, scarlet fever, diphtheria, bad marks at school, separation.
    — from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
  4. The mother played her accompaniments and at the same time watched her daughter with greedy admiration and nervous apprehension.
    — from The Awakening, and Selected Short Stories by Kate Chopin
  5. On every point of general literature he displays unbounded knowledge, and a quick and piercing apprehension.
    — from Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

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