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Literary notes about exit (AI summary)

The term "exit" is deployed in literature both as a formal stage direction and as a metaphorical device, enriching the narrative with precise shifts and layered meanings. In dramatic works, it signals a character's departure from the scene—for instance, Shakespeare often uses "[Exit.]" to denote an offstage movement that propels the action forward ([1], [2], [3]). Meanwhile, in narrative prose and even technical writing, "exit" can imply a transition or an escape from a confined circumstance, as seen when it marks the point of no return in a digital command or the metaphorical departure from life itself ([4], [5]). This dual use not only clarifies the physical logistics of a scene but also deepens the emotional or symbolic resonance of a character’s disengagement from their immediate world ([6], [7]).
  1. [Exit with Emilia.] OTHELLO Excellent wretch!
    — from Othello, the Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare
  2. [Exit.] MONTANO But, good lieutenant, is your general wiv'd?
    — from Othello, the Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare
  3. [Exit LAUNCELOT] Alack, what heinous sin is it in me To be asham'd to be my father's child!
    — from The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
  4. When you exit fvwm , it will move on to the last line, which appends the current date and time to the file ~/logout-time .
    — from Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
  5. And I’m in a state of mind which, if I don’t pay the interest due to-morrow, will force me to make a graceful exit from this life feet first.
    — from Plays by Anton Chekhov, Second Series by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
  6. For there were seen, in that dark wall, Two niches, narrow, deep, and tall; Who enters at such grisly door Shall ne’er, I ween, find exit more.
    — from Marmion: A Tale Of Flodden Field by Walter Scott
  7. [Exit LAUNCELOT] Will you prepare you for this masque to-night?
    — from The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare

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