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Literary notes about parley (AI summary)

The term “parley” has long been a favored literary device to denote moments of negotiation, truce, or confrontation between opposing forces. In epic texts such as Homer's works ([1], [2]) and Dante’s Inferno ([3]), it lends a formal, almost sacred tone to the discourse between warriors or even divine figures. Later authors like Dickens ([4], [5], [6]) and Thackeray ([7], [8]) used it to punctuate abrupt or tense exchanges, reflecting both the gravity and occasional frivolity of the situation. Meanwhile, writers such as Ibsen ([9]) and Ben Jonson ([10], [11]) invoke the term to heighten dramatic irony or to underscore the ritualistic aspect of negotiation, demonstrating its versatility across genres and eras.
  1. And yet suppose these measures I forego, Approach unarm'd, and parley with the foe, The warrior-shield, the helm, and lance, lay down.
    — from The Iliad by Homer
  2. lay the darts aside: A parley Hector asks, a message bears; We know him by the various plume he wears.
    — from The Iliad by Homer
  3. The demon who in parley had drawn nigh Unto my Leader, upon this turned round; ‘Scarmiglione, lay thy weapon by!’
    — from The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri: The Inferno by Dante Alighieri
  4. “Enough of this parley
    — from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
  5. A man was standing there, in parley with the watchman.
    — from Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
  6. They went in, without further parley.
    — from Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
  7. "I want to be off—now—to-night," Dobbin continued; and the Colonel getting up, came out to parley with him.
    — from Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
  8. She left the room before Rawdon went away that day; but they met by chance below, as he was going away after taking leave, and had a parley together.
    — from Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
  9. And is there no sort of little chink that we could hold a parley through? HEDDA.
    — from Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen
  10. PARLE, parley.
    — from Every Man in His Humor by Ben Jonson
  11. PARLE, parley.
    — from The Alchemist by Ben Jonson

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