Literary notes about cleave (AI summary)
The term "cleave" in literature is rich in its contradictory meanings, representing both an act of splitting apart and one of sticking closely together. In religious and allegorical texts, it is often used to denote an unwavering adherence, as seen in passages that call for believers to attach themselves to a higher power ([1], [2], [3]), while in epic poetry and narrative drama it portrays a vivid physical separation or division, such as when tempestuous forces split roofs or when heroes cleave water in their swift passage ([4], [5], [6]). This duality is also evident in more subtle, metaphorical instances where the word communicates inner conflict or profound commitment ([7], [8]), illustrating its ability to bridge the literal and figurative realms of language.
- But cleave ye unto the Lord your God, as you have done until this day.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - Follow the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and hear his voice: him you shall serve, and to him you shall cleave.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - Wherefore a man shall leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they shall be two in one flesh.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - In order seated on their banks, they sweep Neptune's smooth face, and cleave the yielding deep.
— from The Odyssey by Homer - And, with the dreadful tempest of her breath, Did cleave my roof asunder.
— from Volpone; Or, The Fox by Ben Jonson - Like Indra's bolts his shafts have power To cleave the mountain like a flower.
— from The Rámáyan of Válmíki, translated into English verse by Valmiki - Why must he cleave to her in a frenzy as for his very life?
— from The Rainbow by D. H. Lawrence - I long to cleave to heavenly things, but temporal things and unmortified passions press me down.
— from The Imitation of Christ by à Kempis Thomas