Literary notes about flexibility (AI summary)
The term "flexibility" has been employed in literature to evoke a range of ideas from physical pliability to metaphorical adaptability. In some texts, it denotes literal malleability, as seen in descriptions of bodily joints or limbs ([1], [2], [3], [4]), while in others it illustrates the fluidity of thought or style. For instance, John Dewey associates flexibility with intellectual curiosity and a dynamic approach to learning ([5], [6]), contrasting it with rigidity in thought or behavior as illustrated by Helen Keller’s patterned expressions ([7]). Meanwhile, in discussions of art and expression, authors like Chesterton and Rabelais invoke the quality of flexibility to describe personal governance and linguistic versatility ([8], [9]). Even musical contexts benefit from the term, as noted in the fluidity of rhythm and tone ([10], [11]). Such varied usage underscores the word’s capacity to bridge tangible, anatomical attributes with abstract, conceptual frameworks, enriching literary narratives across genres and eras ([12], [13], [14], [15], [16], [17], [18]).
- His arms, as well as legs, were bowed in the most singular manner, and appeared to possess no flexibility whatever.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Edition by Edgar Allan Poe - For, such is the flexibility of the joints, that our fingers are closed and opened without any difficulty.
— from Cicero's Tusculan Disputations by Marcus Tullius Cicero - His arms became stiff, his legs lost their flexibility, and he was almost breathless.
— from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet - His form was squat and without flexibility.
— from The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale by Joseph Conrad - Absence of dogmatism and prejudice, presence of intellectual curiosity and flexibility, are manifest in the free play of the mind upon a topic.
— from How We Think by John Dewey - Consecutiveness means flexibility and variety of materials, conjoined with singleness and definiteness of direction.
— from How We Think by John Dewey - At times Miss Keller seemed to lack flexibility, her thoughts ran in set phrases which she seemed to have no power to revise or turn over in new ways.
— from The Story of My Life by Helen Keller - Preferring personal government, with its tact and flexibility, is called Royalism.
— from What's Wrong with the World by G. K. Chesterton - Italian, from its flexibility and its analogy to French, would have lent itself admirably to the purpose; the ins
— from Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais - The flexibility and elasticity of rhythm of the finest Greek elegiacs he made his own.
— from Helps to Latin Translation at Sight by Edmund Luce - The harsh and painful touch of the ’cello, bass-viol, and even of the violin, hardens the finger-tips, although it gives flexibility to the fingers.
— from Emile by Jean-Jacques Rousseau - flexibilidad f flexibility.
— from Doña Perfecta by Benito Pérez Galdós - Flexibility.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - Let me ask you to permit a slight change in our nomenclature which will greatly increase the flexibility of our vocabulary.
— from A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud - Voices possess the greatest amount of flexibility in their normal octave.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - From the -138- point of view of flexibility and expression voices may be divided into two classes, lyric and dramatic .
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - For flexibility of lips repeat the syllables, mo — me .
— from The Art of Public Speaking by Dale Carnegie and J. Berg Esenwein - Tailor- made communication scripts give a wonderful flexibility.
— from The Online World by Odd De Presno
