Literary notes about captive (AI summary)
The term "captive" functions on both literal and symbolic levels in literary works. In ancient epics, it denotes the physical subjugation of individuals as tokens of conquest and victory—for instance, a "captive fair" is invoked to represent spoils of war ([1]), while historical narratives recount nations and provinces being seized ([2], [3]). At the same time, later works employ the term metaphorically to evoke inner states of confinement, as when a heart or even atoms are portrayed as imprisoned ([4], [5]). In this way, "captive" enriches the narrative, invoking images of physical imprisonment and serving as a symbol for emotional or psychological constraint, as seen in depictions of vulnerable characters like the captive drummer boy ([6]).
- Or, if thy heart to generous love be led, Some captive fair, to bless thy kingly bed?
— from The Iliad by Homer - From ancient times, leading the females captive appears to have been the sign of complete victory.
— from Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, v. 1 of 3 by James Tod - His trophies were decorated with captive provinces and Imperial titles; and his Danish victories avenged the recent injuries of his country.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon - And a beam of past happiness streamed upon me, as the mind of a captive is illumined by dreams of flocks and herds and bygone joys of home!
— from The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - The world-mind thus generates a power which releases the captive atoms held together as an earth.
— from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda - He looked round at the captive drummer boy and felt a pang in his heart.
— from War and Peace by graf Leo Tolstoy
