Literary notes about ravaged (AI summary)
In literature, “ravaged” is often used to convey a sense of overwhelming and brutal destruction that leaves both physical landscapes and human lives in a state of ruin. Whether describing the devastation wrought by invading armies—who ravaged entire regions with impunity [1, 2, 3, 4]—or the insidious impact of epidemics that ravaged villages and cities [5, 6, 7], the word evokes scenes of total desolation. Authors also employ the term metaphorically to depict how beauty, hope, or even personal resilience can be eroded by relentless calamity, as seen when a once vibrant home is ravaged of its loveliness [8] or when a soul is described as being ravaged with tempests of rage and distraction [9]. In every case, “ravaged” serves as a powerful literary tool to underscore the severity and pervasive impact of disaster.
- They made sorties but were routed, so that the Romans ravaged their country with impunity and got possession of some strongholds.
— from Dio's Rome, Volume 1 by Cassius Dio Cocceianus - So these invaded Campania: but the consuls ravaged Samnium, since it was destitute of soldiers, and captured a few cities.
— from Dio's Rome, Volume 1 by Cassius Dio Cocceianus - His fleets ravaged the coast of Arabia; and Trajan vainly flattered himself that he was approaching towards the confines of India.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon - A body of sixteen hundred men under Benedict Arnold had ravaged the country of the James and burned Richmond in January of this same year.
— from The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783 by A. T. Mahan - The beautiful village of Mocha was then ravaged by the plague.
— from All About Coffee by William H. Ukers - Small-pox now broke out at Sitka, and for several years ravaged all the settlements, nearly depopulating some of them.
— from Along Alaska's Great River A Popular Account of the Travels of an Alaska Exploring Expedition along the Great Yukon River, from Its Source to Its Mouth, in the British North-West Territory, and in the Territory of Alaska by Frederick Schwatka - During the great plague, which ravaged all Europe between the years 1345 and 1350, it was generally considered that the end of the world was at hand.
— from Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles Mackay - Jealousy and hatred enter the flowery home, and it is ravaged of its loveliness.
— from Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself by Harriet A. Jacobs - While these consultations were held, Renaldo's bosom was ravaged with tempests of rage and distraction.
— from The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom — Complete by T. Smollett
