Literary notes about ash (AI summary)
In literature, the word "ash" functions as a multifaceted symbol, evoking images that blend the physical with the metaphysical. It appears as the tangible remains of fire—a quiet marker of things consumed and transformed, as when a smouldering log is covered in ash ([1]) or a kindled flame dwindles to a final heap ([2], [3]). At the same time, it acquires a mythic dimension: the ash tree is portrayed as sacred and central to the cosmos, its branches hosting divine assemblies and legendary narratives ([4], [5]), while even in subtle descriptions it colors memories and landscapes with soft, grey hues ([6], [7]). Moreover, "ash" surfaces in everyday moments too, underscoring its versatility by appearing in mundane items like an ash-tray or in the fleeting gesture of flicking ash from a cigar ([8], [9]).
- The smouldering log flares up for the last time, and then is covered in ash.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - We lighted some in a pomatum pot, it burned splendidly, it all burnt away leaving only a tiny ash.
— from The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The fire has again buried itself in white ash and ceased to glow.
— from Man and Superman: A Comedy and a Philosophy by Bernard Shaw - The raging flames enveloped the massive stem of the world ash Yggdrasil, and reached the golden palaces of the gods, which were utterly consumed.
— from Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas by H. A. Guerber - "It is under the ash Yggdrasill," replied Har, "where the gods assemble every day in council."
— from The Elder Eddas of Saemund Sigfusson; and the Younger Eddas of Snorre Sturleson by Sæmundur fróði - Obsidian is of a black or ash-grey colour, and though opaque in mass is transparent in thin edges.
— from The Fables of Aesop by Aesop - He looked up; the night had come on foggy, damp; the golden mists had vanished, and the sky lay dull and ash-colored.
— from Life in the Iron-Mills; Or, The Korl Woman by Rebecca Harding Davis - “Yes—isn't it?” said Anne softly, and she leaned forward and rolled the point of her cigarette round the green ash-tray.
— from The Garden Party, and Other Stories by Katherine Mansfield - His manner of bringing the ash-tray had just the right note of easy friendliness, he felt.
— from Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis
