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Literary notes about pseudonym (AI summary)

The term "pseudonym" has long served as a versatile literary device, functioning both as a marker of artistic identity and as a means of concealing one's true self. In the works of Rabelais and Stendhal, authors employ pseudonyms—such as Claudio Gallitalo [1] and the specially crafted names for intimate circles [2]—to add layers of humor, ambiguity, or secrecy to their narratives. Similarly, in philosophical and poetic spheres, figures like the writer known as Asmus [3] or the Welsh poet Sion Cent [4] have used pseudonyms to highlight their multifaceted personas. The word's use extends into specialized fields and genres, appearing in titles and scientific contexts as seen in Ukers' work on coffee [5], while in the realm of occult literature and mysticism, figures like Papus [6], Olibrio [7], and Eliphas Lévi [8] have adopted alternate names to craft enigmatic public images. This tradition continues in journalism with Guy de Maupassant’s “Maufrigneuse” [9] and in historical compilations where identities merge, as with Joannes Barbatus in Mandeville’s travels [10]. Even in epistolary forms, as evidenced by Grimm’s Lettres Parisiennes [11] and Edgar Allan Poe’s introspection over the pseudonym “Snob” [12], the practice underscores a dynamic interplay between public persona and private individuality—a practice further exemplified by the mystic transformation of Johannes Scheffler into Angelus Silesius [13].
  1. The name attached to it, Claudio Gallitalo (Claudius French-Italian) must certainly be a pseudonym.
    — from Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais
  2. To most of his friends he gave a name completely different from their real one, and adopted with each of them a special pseudonym for himself.
    — from On Love by Stendhal
  3. He generally wrote under the pseudonym of Asmus , and Schopenhauer often refers to him by this name.]
    — from The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer; Studies in Pessimism by Arthur Schopenhauer
  4. In his native Welsh he confined himself to poetry, and Sion Cent was his Cymric pseudonym.
    — from British Goblins: Welsh Folk-lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions by Wirt Sikes
  5. " pseudonym q. " quoted v. " vessel, ship Italicized words are either scientific terms or titles of publications.
    — from All About Coffee by William H. Ukers
  6. Papus is the pseudonym of Dr. Gérard Encausse.
    — from Secret societies and subversive movements by Nesta Helen Webster
  7. He wrote under the pseudonym of 'Olibrio'.
    — from The New Gresham Encyclopedia. A to Amide by Various
  8. (Eliphas Lévi was the pseudonym of the celebrated nineteenth-century occultist the Abbé Constant.)
    — from Secret societies and subversive movements by Nesta Helen Webster
  9. This story appeared in the Gaulois in November, 1882, under the pseudonym of “Maufrigneuse.”
    — from Complete Original Short Stories of Guy De Maupassant by Guy de Maupassant
  10. Barbe, Joannes Barbatus) had chosen to father his compilation on Mandeville, and eventually merged his own identity in that of his pseudonym.
    — from The Travels of Sir John Mandeville by Sir John Mandeville
  11. His Lettres Parisiennes were published in 1838 under the pseudonym of Grimm.
    — from The New Gresham Encyclopedia. A to Amide by Various
  12. P. S. We are consumed with anxiety to probe the mystery which envelops the evident pseudonym “Snob.”
    — from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Edition by Edgar Allan Poe
  13. Angelus Silesius, pseudonym for Johannes Scheffler, a physician and mystic poet of the seventeenth century (1624-77).]
    — from The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer; Counsels and Maxims by Arthur Schopenhauer

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