Literary notes about beyond (AI summary)
The term “beyond” is rendered with rich versatility in literature, serving to demarcate limits—whether physical, intellectual, or moral—and to imply a surpassing quality or boundary. It can denote physical distance, as when a narrative points us past a certain landmark ([1], [2]), or it may signify an abstract threshold that lies outside current knowledge or experience ([3], [4]). At times the word intensifies descriptions, conveying something immeasurable or transcendent, such as being “beyond measure” or exceeding ordinary human capacities ([5], [6], [7]). It even bridges realms from the tangible to the metaphysical, hinting at unseen worlds or ideas that lie outside the immediate grasp of the senses ([8], [9]). This layered usage allows “beyond” to function as both a spatial and conceptual marker, enriching the texture of narrative and argument alike.
- That place is much too far east—in fact, beyond the city which forms the subject of the next chapter.
— from The Travels of Marco Polo — Volume 1 by Marco Polo and da Pisa Rusticiano - The sun had already peeped out from beyond the town behind them, and quietly, without fuss, set to its accustomed task.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - I say two, because the state of my own knowledge does not pass beyond that point.
— from The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson - We know nothing of things beyond our simple Ideas of them.
— from An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, Volume 1 by John Locke - He was polite in his conversation beyond any man, and was expert in all exercises.
— from Heimskringla; Or, The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway by Snorri Sturluson - A year before this speech would have astonished me beyond measure, but now I was not surprised, for I had acquired some knowledge of Spanish manners.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova - He is totally beyond the reach of any sentiment of justice or compassion.
— from Persuasion by Jane Austen - Beyond the brain, however, there is an outer world to which the brain-states themselves 'correspond.'
— from The Principles of Psychology, Volume 1 (of 2) by William James - March to the bridge, it now draws toward night; Beyond the river we'll encamp ourselves, And on to-morrow bid them march away.
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
