Literary notes about explain (AI summary)
In literature, “explain” functions as a versatile device that both clarifies and deepens the narrative. Authors use it to illuminate characters’ motivations or shed light on complex circumstances, as when a character is compelled to justify actions or emotions [1, 2, 3]. In more analytical or academic contexts, it serves to demystify intricate theories or phenomena, inviting readers to explore abstract ideas in greater detail [4, 5, 6]. At times, it also punctuates dialogue, heightening tension by challenging interlocutors to articulate hidden truths or bridge communication gaps [7, 8, 9]. Thus, whether employed in personal revelation or intellectual inquiry, “explain” enriches the text by transforming the ambiguous into something accessible and thoughtful [10, 11, 12].
- “If his motives were innocent, why does he not explain them?”
— from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle - She dared not relate the other half of Mr. Darcy's letter, nor explain to her sister how sincerely she had been valued by her friend.
— from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - I must explain my feelings, the feelings that have guided me and will guide me, so that you may not be in error regarding me.
— from Anna Karenina by graf Leo Tolstoy - "I should like to see a professor of the Johanneum Institution who is unable to explain a cosmic phenomenon—it would indeed be strange."
— from A Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne - 8. Explain how the false shame of seeming to be too precise may hinder us from cultivating perfect verbal utterance.
— from The Art of Public Speaking by Dale Carnegie and J. Berg Esenwein - First of all, I must explain that this young man, Alyosha, was not a fanatic, and, in my opinion at least, was not even a [pg 014] mystic.
— from The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - ' She resumed her seat, looked at him for a long time, and then asked, in a very calm voice: “Well, then, explain.”
— from Complete Original Short Stories of Guy De Maupassant by Guy de Maupassant - Now, my dear Watson, does anything remain for me to explain?”
— from The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle - You wrote that you couldn’t, but you didn’t explain for what reason.
— from The possessed : by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - Nevertheless, I have chosen to explain it here, because, in so far as we look to the desire, it is truly opposed to the emotion of daring. XLII.
— from Ethics by Benedictus de Spinoza - Ah, it is the fault of our science that it wants to explain all; and if it explain not, then it says there is nothing to explain.
— from Dracula by Bram Stoker - To make matters clear I may as well explain at once what had happened.
— from She by H. Rider Haggard
