Literary notes about harpy (AI summary)
The word “harpy” assumes a striking duality in literature, functioning both as a descriptor of a fearsome, mythic creature and as a metaphor for a vicious or rapacious person. In some works, it evokes the image of a monstrous bird—its very name lending credence to species like the Harpy Eagle ([1], [2], [3], [4])—while in others it depicts a contemptible, money-minded individual or a notoriously harsh woman, as in the biting characterizations of a “harpy printer” or an “old harpy” whose presence is synonymous with greed and cruelty ([5], [6], [7], [8], [9]). Additionally, the term is employed for its sonic and visual power in similes that liken a character’s swift and destructive actions to the sudden wing-flaps of a harpy ([10], [11], [12]). This layered usage allows authors to blur the lines between mythological terror and human vice, imbuing their narratives with both literal and figurative intensity.
- The Harpy Eagle ( Harpyia destructor ) 24 8.
— from Cassell's Book of Birds, Volume 2 (of 4) by Alfred Edmund Brehm - The Falcon family is divided into the Falcons proper, the Eagles, Sea Eagles, Harpy Eagles, Buzzards, Hawks, Goshawks and Harriers.
— from A Natural History for Young People: Our Animal Friends in Their Native Homesincluding mammals, birds and fishes by Phebe Westcott Humphreys - The Harpy , or Destructive Eagle of South America ( Harpyia destructor , Cuv.), Fig. 284 , is the model species of the genus.
— from Reptiles and Birds A Popular Account of Their Various Orders, With a Description of the Habits and Economy of the Most Interesting by Louis Figuier - The B RAZILIAN E AGLES ( Morphnus ):—The Crested Brazilian Eagle—The Harpy Eagle.
— from Cassell's Book of Birds, Volume 2 (of 4) by Alfred Edmund Brehm - And do you know that old harpy in London never named money.
— from A Singer from the Sea by Amelia E. Barr - We can attend to our money matters without you; and I am not willing that this harpy of a printer should any longer remain in your presence.”
— from Goethe and Schiller: An Historical Romance by L. (Luise) Mühlbach - Many people think that the hospital nurse is but another name for a heartless harpy, brimful of callous selfishness.
— from Camps, Quarters, and Casual Places by Archibald Forbes - Her mother's with them, too, just now—that's old Mrs. Billing—a harpy if ever there was one—and with all the things people are saying!
— from The High Heart by Basil King - Captain Cheffington had been violently angry, and had denounced the schoolmistress—Mrs. Drax—as an insolent, grasping, vulgar harpy.
— from That Unfortunate Marriage, Vol. 1 by Frances Eleanor Trollope - Enter Ariel, like a harpy; claps his wings upon the table, and with a quaint device the banquet vanishes."
— from William Shakespeare: A Critical Study by Georg Brandes - So swift through ether the shrill harpy springs, The wide air floating to her ample wings, To great Achilles
— from The Iliad by Homer - Enter Ariel , like a harpy; claps his wings upon the table; and, with a quaint device, the banquet vanishes.
— from The Tempest by William Shakespeare
