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Literary notes about coerce (AI summary)

The word “coerce” in literature is employed to depict the imposition of power and force, whether on an individual, societal, or philosophical level. Authors often use it to highlight struggles where authority is wielded to overcome resistance, as when personal defiance meets attempts at control ([1], [2], [3]). It is also invoked to illustrate political or social pressure, with references to governments or institutions imposing their will ([4], [5], [6]). In other contexts, the term is examined from an etymological perspective, as seen in classical lexicons that trace its roots to notions of punishment or curtailment ([7]). Thus, its usage not only enriches narrative tension but also underscores broader themes of freedom, power, and resistance.
  1. “You may convince, you cannot coerce me.”
    — from The Bramleighs of Bishop's Folly by Charles James Lever
  2. If a man were known to coerce his wife's vote I believe he would be ridden out of town on a rail with a coat of tar and feathers.
    — from The History of Woman Suffrage, Volume IV
  3. If he refuses to work, his master may coerce him.
    — from Slavery and the Constitution by William I. (William Ingersoll) Bowditch
  4. The Foreign Secretary would not coerce the Epirotes, and the British conscience would not permit the coercion of Ulster.
    — from The Annual Register 1914A Review of Public Events at Home and Abroad for the Year 1914 by Anonymous
  5. The government has no right to coerce a State.
    — from Following the Flag, from August 1861 to November 1862, with the Army of the Potomac by Charles Carleton Coffin
  6. The union with England meant that the king had power to coerce Scotland.
    — from The Scottish Parliament Before the Union of the Crowns by Robert S. (Robert Sangster) Rait
  7. Κολάζω , f. άσομαι & άσω, pr. to curtail, to coerce; to chastise, punish, Ac. 4.21.
    — from A Greek-English Lexicon to the New Testament by William Greenfield

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