Literary notes about corrosive (AI summary)
The term "corrosive" is employed in literature in ways that blend its literal chemical connotations with rich metaphorical overtones. In some instances, writers invoke its destructive quality to capture the disintegrative impact of time, emotion, or moral decay—as seen when Shakespeare describes parting as a “fretful corrosive” that afflicts the heart ([1], [2]). In contrast, scientific and medical texts utilize "corrosive" in a literal sense, detailing substances like corrosive sublimate for their disinfecting, dissolving, or poisonous properties ([3], [4], [5]). Meanwhile, modern novelists such as D. H. Lawrence extend the term's metaphorical reach to depict burning, overwhelming passion and internal strife ([6], [7], [8], [9]). Thus, through diverse contexts, "corrosive" serves as a versatile descriptor that captures both physical erosion and the unyielding intensity of emotional experiences.
- Though parting be a fretful corrosive, It is applied to a deathful wound.
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare - Care is no cure, but rather corrosive, For things that are not to be remedied.
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare - The effects produced are vomiting, purging, &c., as in corrosive sublimate.
— from Poisons, Their Effects and Detection
A Manual for the Use of Analytical Chemists and Experts by Alexander Wynter Blyth - Corrosive sublimate solution, 1 per mille.
— from The Elements of Bacteriological TechniqueA Laboratory Guide for Medical, Dental, and Technical Students. Second Edition Rewritten and Enlarged. by J. W. H. (John William Henry) Eyre - Corrosive sublimate should be placed in the crucible as long as any blue flame is seen to come from it.
— from The A B C of Mining: A Handbook for Prospectors by Charles A. Bramble - But from his body through her hands came the bitter-corrosive shock of his passion upon her, destroying her in blossom.
— from The Rainbow by D. H. Lawrence - She took him in the kiss, hard her kiss seized upon him, hard and fierce and burning corrosive as the moonlight.
— from The Rainbow by D. H. Lawrence - She was filled with overpowering fear of herself, overpowering desire that it should not be, that other burning, corrosive self.
— from The Rainbow by D. H. Lawrence - All the blood in his body went black and powerful and corrosive as he heard her.
— from The Rainbow by D. H. Lawrence