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Literary notes about delight (AI summary)

Across literature, "delight" is employed as a multifaceted term that conveys everything from innocent joy to profound, transformative satisfaction. Authors use it to mark the sudden erasure of disappointment with surprise and joy, as when feelings of vexation vanish into unexpected pleasure [1]. In narratives ranging from epic romances to reflective personal encounters, delight becomes a marker of both communal admiration and intimate emotion, as seen when characters exhibit a proud enjoyment in their pursuits or find solace in simple pleasures [2, 3]. Its presence punctuates moments of aesthetic appreciation—be it the serene marvel of nature or the rapturous response to art and beauty—while sometimes hinting at a deeper, almost philosophical understanding of life’s bittersweet nature [4, 5]. This layered use of "delight" enriches the narrative, transforming even mundane moments into significant experiences filled with emotional resonance.
  1. While I was going through this explanation I saw surprise and delight efface the disappointment and vexation which had been there a moment before.
    — from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova
  2. Yet, if thou canst, keep thee from the presence of the Grand Master, for to do foul scorn to our people is his morning and evening delight.
    — from Ivanhoe: A Romance by Walter Scott
  3. She could not help smiling, and she fell asleep, her soul filled with a new delight.
    — from Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
  4. There is a sort of Delight, which is alternately mixed with Terror and Sorrow, in the Contemplation of Death.
    — from The Spectator, Volume 1 by Joseph Addison and Sir Richard Steele
  5. In æsthetics they are the feelings of delight or displeasure which certain particular orders in a series of impressions give.
    — from The Principles of Psychology, Volume 1 (of 2) by William James

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