Literary notes about fret (AI summary)
The word “fret” in literature carries a dual range of meanings that highlight both internal emotion and tangible imagery. Often, it is employed to depict worry or anxiety, as characters advise one another not to fret about seemingly insurmountable challenges or uncertain futures ([1], [2], [3]). At the same time, authors also use the term in a more literal sense, referring to physical elements such as the fret on a musical instrument, which underscores a clever play on words and meaning ([4], [5]). Additionally, its varied use in expressions of restlessness or emotional strain enriches its versatility, weaving a textured interplay between practical description and metaphorical significance throughout literary works ([6], [7], [8]).
- “Don't fret; I'll come down and mend it in the night,” he said.
— from Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton - Do not fret, Pauline; let us hope La Petite is a true Valmet.”
— from The Awakening, and Selected Short Stories by Kate Chopin - "Now, my dear young ladies, remember what your ma said, and don't fret.
— from Little Women; Or, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy by Louisa May Alcott - Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, you cannot play upon me.
— from Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare - A fret is a stop or key of a musical instrument.
— from Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare - If anything trouble them, they cannot sleep, but fret themselves still, till another object mitigate, or time wear it out.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - There could be no reasonable doubt the fret of the defeat had contributed to the death of Pawkins.
— from The Country of the Blind, and Other Stories by H. G. Wells - could ye taste the mirth ye mar, Not in the toils of Glory would ye fret; The hoarse dull drum would sleep, and Man be happy yet.
— from Childe Harold's Pilgrimage by Baron George Gordon Byron Byron
