Literary notes about master (AI summary)
In literature, the term “master” carries a range of connotations—from denoting hierarchical authority and expertise to invoking intimate relationships and personal control. In many narratives it signifies the controlling figure or one with specialized skill, as when a character is identified as the “master of the pen” or adept at managing his own fate ([1], [2]). The word simultaneously appears in settings of servitude and apprenticeship, whether referring to the master of slaves or that of a household or craft ([3], [4], [5], [6]). There are also instances where “master” functions as a respectful title when addressing someone in a position of mentorship or command ([7], [8]), as well as an informal appellation used in everyday interactions ([9], [10]). Thus, across diverse texts—from historical narratives and religious scriptures to epics and modern novels—the term “master” encapsulates ideas of power, control, and skilled accomplishment while also reflecting complex personal and social relationships ([11], [12], [13]).
- I was captain of my soul and master of fate!
— from Darkwater: Voices from Within the Veil by W. E. B. Du Bois - He was a beautiful writer and a master of the pen.
— from Korean folk tales : by Pang Im and Yuk Yi - My connection with Master Daniel was of some advantage to me.
— from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass - I told him it was certainly wrong to deceive the old man, and that it was his duty to tell him of the impositions practised by his young master.
— from Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself by Harriet A. Jacobs - Want of food was my chief trouble the first summer at my old master’s.
— from My Bondage and My Freedom by Frederick Douglass - I was seldom whipped by my old master, and suffered little from any thing else than hunger and cold.
— from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass - The disciple is not above the master, nor the servant above his lord.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - “Yes,” he replied; “I wish to come in, master.”
— from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - Well, but Missis and the young ladies and Master John are going out to tea this afternoon, and you shall have tea with me.
— from Jane Eyre: An Autobiography by Charlotte Brontë - Never had pupil a more patient, unwearying, considerate, kindhearted master.
— from Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens - In the first place, the courts have said that public policy requires the power of the master and officers should be sustained.
— from Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana - He is still the master of his own body, and can say with the poet, “The hand of Douglass is his own.”
— from My Bondage and My Freedom by Frederick Douglass - No; Master Slender is let the boys leave to play.
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
