Literary notes about presentment (AI summary)
The word “presentment” has been employed in literature with a remarkable range of nuances, oscillating between literal and metaphorical representations. In some works, the term conveys a direct and vivid image—as when a character encounters his own reflection in a mirror [1] or when beauty is perceived in a mirrored display [2]. In other instances, “presentment” functions as a curated portrayal of ideas or dispositions, such as in an ancient strategic treatise [3] or in an ironic, perhaps even deceptive, depiction like a “counterfeit presentment” [4] that challenges authenticity [5]. Psychoanalytic literature further adapts the term to suggest that the fulfillment of a wish is intimately tied to the nature of a dream [6], while narrative fiction sometimes presents momentary and seemingly inevitable displays of circumstance [7]. Even in discussions about the justification of artistic or scientific representation, “presentment” is invoked to underline the crafted nature of what is shown [8][9].
- [He sees his own presentment in a mirror.
— from The Silver Box: A Comedy in Three Acts by John Galsworthy - [75] i.e. in the mirrored presentment of her own beauty.
— from The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio by Giovanni Boccaccio - The most powerful presentment of this side of the case is to be found in the following disposition by Yeh Shui-hsin:
— from The Art of War by active 6th century B.C. Sunzi - In about half an hour after her departure, the “large amount” is seen to be a “counterfeit presentment,” and the whole thing a capital diddle.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Edition by Edgar Allan Poe - THE COUNTERFEIT PRESENTMENT OF PRINCE ALBERT’S HOUNDS AND THE POOR IN THE SEVENOAKS UNION.
— from Roget's Thesaurus by Peter Mark Roget - In colloquial usage, therefore, there is a presentment of the fact that the fulfillment of a wish is a main characteristic of the dream.
— from A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud - Yet, like the majority of women, she accepted the momentary presentment as if it were the inevitable.
— from Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman by Thomas Hardy - That being so, the artistic justification of the poet's presentment of the case is certainly not dependent on its absolute scientific accuracy.
— from Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen - This wonderfully life-like presentment was bequeathed by Yule to his friend Sir Joseph Hooker, who presented it to the Royal Society.
— from The Travels of Marco Polo — Volume 1 by Marco Polo and da Pisa Rusticiano
