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Literary notes about blazon (AI summary)

The word "blazon" has been employed with a range of nuanced meanings in literature, often bridging the literal world of heraldry and the figurative realm of public declaration or display. In some works, it retains its technical sense—referring to armorial bearings or the formal description of a coat of arms—as seen in references that define it as such ([1], [2]) and even in its title usage related to noble identity ([3], [4]). In contrast, other authors apply "blazon" more metaphorically, using it to suggest a vivid outburst or the act of broadcasting a reputation, whether in the context of combat challenges ([5], [6]) or in witty banter on personal honor ([7]). This duality, extending from detailed heraldic description to the broader notion of branding or proclaiming one's name, illustrates the word’s flexibility and its evolution over time in literary usage ([8], [9], [10]).
  1. BLAZON, armorial bearings; fig.
    — from The Alchemist by Ben Jonson
  2. BLAZON, armorial bearings; fig.
    — from Every Man in His Humor by Ben Jonson
  3. There is some difference among authorities as to the details of the Polo blazon.
    — from The Travels of Marco Polo — Volume 1 by Marco Polo and da Pisa Rusticiano
  4. See Ferne's “Blazon of Gentrie” p. 238.
    — from Ivanhoe: A Romance by Walter Scott
  5. If you refuse to meet him in combat, I shall blazon your name throughout the state as an impostor!'
    — from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda
  6. If the villain must disgrace the family, must he blazon it abroad to every low-bred knave of his acquaintance?
    — from The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë
  7. I’ faith, lady, I think your blazon to be true; though, I’ll be sworn, if he be so, his conceit is false.
    — from Much Ado about Nothing by William Shakespeare
  8. It is better to have a blazon less and a figure more on it.
    — from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet
  9. BLAZE, outburst of violence. BLAZE, (her.) blazon; publish abroad.
    — from The Alchemist by Ben Jonson
  10. BLAZE, outburst of violence. BLAZE, (her.) blazon; publish abroad.
    — from Every Man in His Humor by Ben Jonson

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