Literary notes about hard (AI summary)
The word “hard” is used in literature with remarkable versatility, serving both literal and metaphorical functions. In some works it underscores physical intensity or force, as seen when a character is struck hard or presses a hand hard against another ([1], [2]), while in others it depicts the rigors and toils of daily life or the severity of circumstances ([3], [4], [5]). It also conveys emotional states, describing harsh interactions or internal struggles, such as being hard on someone emotionally ([6], [7]) or enduring hard times ([8], [9]). At times, “hard” emphasizes the challenge inherent in a task or an experience, whether it is the difficulty of understanding complex ideas ([10]) or overcoming obstacles within a narrative ([11], [12]). In each case, the term enriches the text by heightening the sense of physical, mental, or temporal weight.
- He came to her fierce and hard, like a hawk striking and taking her.
— from The Rainbow by D. H. Lawrence - He took my hand, pressed it hard, and disappeared among the crowd without saying another word.
— from The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins - When hard at work during the day they do not have much time to think of their ailments, their business troubles, their misfortunes.
— from Pushing to the Front by Orison Swett Marden - In the very heat of the day the mowing did not seem such hard work to him.
— from Anna Karenina by graf Leo Tolstoy - So the Brangwens came and went without fear of necessity, working hard because of the life that was in them, not for want of the money.
— from The Rainbow by D. H. Lawrence - This shows you that even mistakes are sometimes valuable, so do not be hard on grown-up people if they are wrong sometimes.
— from Nine Unlikely Tales by E. (Edith) Nesbit - She was taking it very hard—not at all like herself, he thought.
— from The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale by Joseph Conrad - [37] “Hard times” and the inability of the country to support the rapid ly increasing population has, then, been a most potent factor.
— from A History of Norwegian Immigration to the United States by George T. Flom - It’s hard times for such as us,” said the man; and leaving the window open, he retired into his room.
— from Sybil, Or, The Two Nations by Earl of Beaconsfield Benjamin Disraeli - If something is hard to understand, just log off to study the difficult text.
— from The Online World by Odd De Presno - And this must needs be a hard Task, since I have no guide, neither Aristotle nor Horace to direct me....
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - Or she will bring some gross accusation against me, of which it may be hard to clear myself, and I shall be ruined.
— from The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana by Vatsyayana
