Literary notes about putrefy (AI summary)
The word "putrefy" functions as a vivid marker of decay and corruption in literature, employed in both literal and metaphorical registers. In some instances, authors use it to depict the physical process of decomposition—from the rotting of wounds and flesh that emit a repulsive odor ([1], [2], [3]) to its application in scientific contexts describing how organic matter deteriorates under certain conditions ([4], [5], [6]). At the same time, the term often serves as a powerful metaphor for moral or societal corruption, suggesting that not only bodies but also ideas or institutions can decay and become corrupt over time ([7], [8], [9]). This dual usage enriches the narrative, enabling writers to evoke strong sensory reactions and deeper symbolic meanings simultaneously.
- Have thy sins corrupted thy wounds, and made them putrefy and stink?
— from Works of John Bunyan — Volume 01 by John Bunyan - Dead bodies quickly putrefy and smell badly; they are thus equated, subconsciously, with ordure and must be buried.
— from Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper - The bodies began to putrefy, and the stench was horrible, so that an attempt was made to collect the bodies and burn them.
— from The Autobiography of Lieutenant-General Sir Harry Smith, Baronet of Aliwal on the Sutlej, G.C.B. by Smith, Harry George Wakelyn, Sir - This paste is of a pureness cleanliness and of a strong cohesion, so that it does not putrefy even when the paste grass is left open.
— from Mysterious Japan by Julian Street - It contained no urea, could be evaporated to dryness without offence, and showed no tendency to putrefy.
— from The Dwelling House by George Vivian Poore - These amounts of energy completely destroy the microbes and enzymes which normally cause food to putrefy.
— from Atoms in Agriculture: Applications of Nuclear Science to Agriculture (Revised) by Thomas S. Osborne - I crush them into my heart, and there let them putrefy!
— from The Snow Image by Nathaniel Hawthorne - Many ill matters and projects are undertaken; and private suits do putrefy the public good.
— from Bacon's Essays, and Wisdom of the Ancients by Francis Bacon - Sometimes he thought that perhaps the law would forget about him also, and that he would putrefy in the prison till death.
— from The Knights of the Cross, or, Krzyzacy: Historical Romance by Henryk Sienkiewicz
