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Literary notes about let (AI summary)

The word "let" is used in literature as a versatile imperative that can both command action and grant permission. It often introduces a collective call to arms or an invitation to proceed, such as “Let us follow the way trodden by the illustrious ones of former ages” ([1]) or “Let us make haste” ([2]). In other instances, "let" is employed to subtly express resignation or compulsion, exemplified in passages like “Let me go!” ([3]) and “Do let her go” ([4]), where the plea carries emotional urgency. Moreover, its use extends to setting conditions or offering concessions—“If so, let me know where I shall go, what I shall do?” ([5])—and it serves as a narrative device that marks a transition or initiates dialogue (e.g., “Let us have a talk,” [6]). Across these varied examples, "let" functions as a soft command that reflects both the proactive and deferential tones in the narrative, revealing its enduring flexibility in literary expression.
  1. Let us follow the way trodden by the illustrious ones of former ages.
    — from The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 1
  2. Let us make haste.
    — from Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
  3. Let me go!
    — from Medea of Euripides by Euripides
  4. “Do let her go, Mr. Rochester, if you please: it would be better.”
    — from Jane Eyre: An Autobiography by Charlotte Brontë
  5. If so, let me know where I shall go, what I shall do?
    — from Fox's Book of Martyrs by John Foxe
  6. "Let us have a talk," she said, going up to him.
    — from The Lady with the Dog and Other Stories by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

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