Literary notes about coax (AI summary)
The term "coax" in literature often conveys a gentle, persistent persuasion, whether it’s an attempt to win someone’s favor or to draw something concealed into action. It appears when characters try to elicit a smile or a change of heart, as in efforts to coax a reluctant mood into cheerfulness ([1], [2]), or even to bring stubborn animals or inanimate forces to comply ([3], [4]). At times, its use hints at a subtle manipulation, as when one character works to coax out a secret or influence another’s behavior ([5], [6]). Overall, the word is a versatile tool that enriches narratives by highlighting the nuanced and sometimes near-magical art of gentle persuasion ([7], [8]).
- Not even mother or Susan have been able to coax that thing to smile, try as they would.
— from Rilla of Ingleside by L. M. Montgomery - Now,’ says I, ‘why can’t you kinder coax ’em up, and speak ’em fair?
— from Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe - We saw a man coax, kick and spur one of them five or ten minutes before he could make it cross a running stream.
— from Roughing It by Mark Twain - However little there is to eat, he always saves a bit o’ his bread to coax his pets.”
— from The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett - Coax him to use his influence with the Jew.
— from Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens - Tell the abbe who we are, make him laugh, soften his heart, coax him and persuade him!”
— from Complete Original Short Stories of Guy De Maupassant by Guy de Maupassant - I want a woman—just an ordinary woman—whom I can be free to chide and coax and pet and scold.
— from The Hungry Stones, and Other Stories by Rabindranath Tagore - I will see whether I can yet coax Nature."
— from Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. III, No. XVII, October 1851 by Various
