Literary notes about pageant (AI summary)
The term "pageant" has been employed in literature to convey a sense of spectacle, ceremony, and sometimes the grand or even metaphoric unfolding of life itself. In many works it denotes a literal or historical procession—such as the depiction of historical or festive events in [1], [2], [3], and [4]—while in others it functions on a symbolic level, representing the unfolding dramas of human existence or nature, as seen in [5] and [6]. Authors exploit its visual and performative qualities, whether by evoking a childhood yearning for inclusion in something larger than life ([7]), critiquing empty formalities ([8]) or even describing the intricate staging of spiritual or cosmic drama ([9], [10]). This diverse usage underscores its ability to encapsulate both the tangible and the metaphorical, imbuing scenes with a layered richness that continues to resonate across genres and eras.
- This was an historical pageant, representing the King’s immediate progenitors.
— from The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain - The day was beautiful, and the pageant was superb.
— from Memoirs of General William T. Sherman — Complete by William T. Sherman - The next day there was a great pageant in Washington.
— from Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup - In the autumn the great Duke of Wellington died, and Yule witnessed the historic pageant of his funeral.
— from The Travels of Marco Polo — Volume 1 by Marco Polo and da Pisa Rusticiano - The seasons come and go in glad or saddening pageant, and with winged or leaden feet the years pass by before them.
— from Intentions by Oscar Wilde - There are parents, children, relatives and friends all passing before us in the pageant of life from the cradle to the grave.
— from Etiquette by Emily Post - What was this grand, eternal pageant to which he had yearned from his childhood up, and in which he could never take part?
— from The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - To-night, for the first time in my life, I saw through the hollowness, the sham, the silliness, of the empty pageant in which I had always played.
— from The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - The Cosmic Director has written His own plays, and assembled the tremendous casts for the pageant of the centuries.
— from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda - "Thank you, sir; it brings the pageant of India before my eyes.
— from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda
