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Literary notes about overhang (AI summary)

In literature, the term "overhang" is used to convey both the tangible and the atmospheric, often creating a mood of looming presence or foreboding. For instance, in the Old English epic cited in [1], the concept of "overhang" is imbued with a natural, almost mystical quality as rustling forests seem to passively dominate the landscape. Similarly, in Walter Scott’s work [2], the ruins of a castle overhanging a glen evoke a sense of enduring history and latent menace. In adventure literature, Jules Verne’s description [3] of mountain walls that overhang to such an extent as to impede scaling reflects physical challenges and the raw power of nature. Finally, Charles Dickens in [4] uses "overhang" metaphorically to suggest the pervasive presence of decay and gloom that cloaks an entire town.
  1. For ‘ hrímge ’ in the H.-So. edition, Gr. and others read ‘ hrínde ’ (= hrínende ), and translate: which rustling forests overhang . XXII.
    — from Beowulf: An Anglo-Saxon Epic Poem
  2. The ruins of the castle of Benuchara, or Bannochar (see on 422 just below), still overhang the entrance to the glen.
    — from The Lady of the Lake by Walter Scott
  3. You can climb about 100 feet up the inner base of this mountain, but then the walls overhang, they lean too far in to be scaled."
    — from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas: An Underwater Tour of the World by Jules Verne
  4. The same decay and gloom that overhang the way by which it is approached, hover above the town of Richmond.
    — from American Notes by Charles Dickens

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