Literary notes about decipher (AI summary)
The word “decipher” in literature is often employed both in its literal sense of interpreting coded or ancient texts and in a metaphorical sense to denote the process of unraveling subtle or obscure meanings. It appears in descriptions of painstaking scholarly efforts to translate or make sense of inscriptions, as when authors depict the labor involved in revealing hidden messages in ancient texts [1, 2, 3]. At the same time, it is used to capture the challenge of reading a character’s unspoken emotions or ambiguous expressions, suggesting that understanding can require as much careful effort as decoding an unfamiliar cipher [4, 5]. This dual usage enriches narratives by highlighting the tension between what is immediately visible and what lies beneath, waiting to be uncovered through deliberate insight.
- At a cost of much labor we have been able to decipher a morsel which we give to the public: and of the authenticity of which there can be no doubt.
— from The Satyricon — Complete by Petronius Arbiter - But there is no Champollion to decipher the Egypt of every man’s and every being’s face.
— from Moby Dick; Or, The Whale by Herman Melville - What Champollion will decipher this hieroglyphic for us, that we may turn over a new leaf at last?
— from Walden, and On The Duty Of Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau - I could not quite decipher the expression of her face; but I was satisfied there was no jealousy therein.
— from The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë - When he caught sight of herself, his face showed a ripple of feeling that came and went before she could decipher its meaning.
— from Lady Cassandra by Vaizey, George de Horne, Mrs.
