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Literary notes about clarion (AI summary)

The term "clarion" has been employed in literature in a variety of evocative ways, often to denote a sound of clear, piercing resonance that calls attention or signals the onset of action. In the works of poets like Walt Whitman, the word appears to capture the natural chorus of sounds—the crowing of a chanticleer or the rhythmic accompaniment of nature, as seen in examples [1] and [2]. In contrast, authors such as Walter Scott adopt "clarion" in a more martial or triumphant context, using it to evoke the swelling of battle calls or triumphant strains that swell like a horn—illustrated in passages [3], [4], and [5]. Meanwhile, its usage by Jefferson in [6] and [7] ties the term back to its French origins, denoting the instrument itself, while writers like Mark Twain and his co-author, as well as Maupassant, explore further dimensions: from naming newspapers and objects ([8], [9]) to representing vibrant, almost elemental sound imagery. Collectively, these examples attest to the word's rich ambiguity and its capacity to serve both as a literal descriptor of a horn’s call and as a powerful metaphor for signaling events or emotions in literature.
  1. For sounds, the chirping of crickets in the grass, the clarion of chanticleer, and the distant cawing of an early crow.
    — from Complete Prose Works by Walt Whitman
  2. For undertones, a neighboring wood-pecker tapping his tree, and the distant clarion of chanticleer.
    — from Complete Prose Works by Walt Whitman
  3. Nor ended thus the strain, but slow Sunk in a moan prolonged and low, And changed the conquering clarion swell
    — from The Lady of the Lake by Walter Scott
  4. XII The heralds left their pricking up and down, Now ringen trumpets loud and clarion.
    — from Ivanhoe: A Romance by Walter Scott
  5. No cymbal clashed, no clarion rang, Still were the pipe and drum; Save heavy tread, and armor's clang, The sullen march was dumb.
    — from The Lady of the Lake by Walter Scott
  6. clarion (F. clairon ).
    — from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson
  7. Clarioun , sb. clarion, C, MD; claryone , Prompt.—OF.
    — from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson
  8. The next morning the Hooverville Patriot and Clarion had this “item”:— SLIGHTUALLY OVERBOARD.
    — from The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner
  9. Monsieur de Meroul was holding in his hand the Gaulois for himself, the Clarion for his wife.
    — from Complete Original Short Stories of Guy De Maupassant by Guy de Maupassant

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