Literary notes about drift (AI summary)
The term "drift" functions as a multifaceted metaphor in literature, often capturing both tangible movement and abstract transitions. It is employed to denote physical displacement—a vehicle stalling amid a snow-drift [1] or an object floating toward an unknown destination [2, 3]—while, in other contexts, it describes the intangible flow of conversation or thought, as when one inquires about the "drift" to seek the underlying message or direction of an argument [4, 5]. Additionally, the word connotes a gradual, inevitable transition in states of being, whether in the emotional, intellectual, or even historical realm, illustrating a sense of change that is both natural and uncontrollable [6, 7, 8]. Through these varied uses, the term underscores the subtle interplay between external forces and internal dynamics, enriching narratives with layers of meaning that resonate on multiple levels.
- We actually went into camp in a snow-drift in a desert, at midnight in a storm, forlorn and hopeless, within fifteen steps of a comfortable inn.
— from Roughing It by Mark Twain - If they did so, they would become seasick, fall asleep, and their canoe would drift away into the unknown.
— from Argonauts of the Western Pacific by Bronislaw Malinowski - He thought it was a piece of floating paper, perhaps part of the kite, and wondered idly how long it would take to drift ashore.
— from Peter and Wendy by J. M. Barrie - For in this case what is the drift of the enumeration?
— from St. Paul's Epistles to the Colossians and Philemon by J. B. Lightfoot - They would say that, at any rate, if they did not perceive the drift of the question.
— from The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain - I thought of their unfathomable distance, and the slow inevitable drift of their movements out of the unknown past into the unknown future.
— from The Time Machine by H. G. Wells - with this background did Amory drift into adolescence.
— from This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald - At all events, he was powerless, and had to let matters drift to a conclusion.
— from Memoirs of General William T. Sherman — Complete by William T. Sherman