Literary notes about fraught (AI summary)
The word "fraught" in literature is often used to convey that something is imbued or laden with a particular quality—be it danger, emotion, significance, or complexity. Its usage ranges from describing physical peril, as when a voyage or battle is depicted as fraught with danger ([1], [2]), to highlighting the weight of emotional or intellectual involvement, such as relationships or declarations that are fraught with hidden meanings or woe ([3], [4]). In more poetic contexts, "fraught" can serve to deepen the imagery, imbuing actions or objects with abstract qualities like wisdom or destiny, as seen when words are described as fraught with import ([5], [6]), or even when a simple kiss is tinged with perceptible tension ([7]). Across these varied contexts, the term enriches the narrative by suggesting that beneath a seemingly ordinary occurrence lies a complex interplay of forces and consequences.
- He left it behind in charge of Megabyzus, the sacristan of the goddess, thinking that the voyage on which he was starting was fraught with danger.
— from Anabasis by Xenophon - To cross to the opposite shore was an undertaking fraught with danger to life and limb.
— from Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen by H. C. Andersen - No—marriage is fraught with difficulties.
— from The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie - The worship that chaste wives offer unto their husbands appeareth to me to be fraught with great difficulty.
— from The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 1 - His words are, indeed fraught with wisdom.
— from The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 1 - Now, good Camillo, I am so fraught with curious business that I leave out ceremony.
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare - The play was Love for Love; and though it is fraught with wit and entertainment
— from Evelina, Or, the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World by Fanny Burney
