Literary notes about prey (AI summary)
In literature, the term prey appears with rich and multifaceted symbolism. Often, it denotes a state of vulnerability or subjugation—a person or entity overcome by despair or circumstance, as in the portrayal of a man consumed by hopelessness ([1]) or as an emblem of overwhelming emotional turmoil ([2], [3]). At times, it is employed in a more literal, almost predatory sense, depicting natural cycles of hunt and survival, as seen in references to animals and their instincts ([4], [5], [6]). The word also carries metaphorical weight in broader contexts, suggesting that individuals or nations can become targets of insidious forces, whether those are societal, political, or supernatural ([7], [8], [9]). This layered use of the term enriches its presence in literary works, allowing it to signify both concrete and abstract forms of conquest and vulnerability.
- He told me that great sorrow had befallen him, which had fairly turned his brain, and that he was a prey to the most intense despair.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova - And with these heartless words she beetled off, leaving me a prey to the gloomiest emotions.
— from Right Ho, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse - I shall no longer feel the agonies which now consume me, or be the prey of feelings unsatisfied, yet unquenched.
— from Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - 1096 If he had spoke, the wolf would leave his prey, And never fright the silly lamb that day.
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare - The wolf, relentless, day by day, Makes still another sheep his prey.
— from The Fables of La Fontaine by Jean de La Fontaine - Some days later, while stalking his prey in the forest, the Lion was caught in the toils of a hunter's net.
— from The Aesop for Children by Aesop - Jean Valjean at that very moment was the prey of a terrible upheaval.
— from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo - From the seventh century, India was a prey to Mohammedan conquerors, who entered from the northwest into the valley of the Indus.
— from A History of the Philippines by David P. Barrows - With weapons we the welcome prey invade, Then call the gods for partners of our feast, And Jove himself, the chief invited guest.
— from The Aeneid by Virgil
