Literary notes about retrieve (AI summary)
In literature, "retrieve" functions as a flexible term that conveys both physical recovery and the restoration of lost fortunes, honor, or time. It appears in epic narratives as a call to reclaim faded glory or reversed misfortune, as when heroes in classical works strive to retrieve their fortunes or the day itself [1, 2, 3]. In more intimate contexts, characters seek to retrieve personal errors or damaged reputations, suggesting a yearning to turn back the clock on past mishaps [4, 5, 6]. The term also finds modern resonance in technical texts where the retrieval of digital information is central to communications and computing [7, 8, 9]. Even in moments of levity, "retrieve" conveys the simple act of bringing something back, whether retrieving a thrown ball or a lost object [10].
- "—The steeds obey; Already at their heels they wing their way, And seem already to retrieve the day.
— from The Iliad by Homer - But grant, oh grant, our loss we may retrieve; A favour you, and you alone can give.'
— from The Odyssey by Homer - Pyrrhus, misled by an oracle, made a last attempt to retrieve the fortunes of Greece.
— from Ulysses by James Joyce - And then poor Bathsheba instantly perceived her slip in making this admission: in hastily trying to retrieve it, she went from bad to worse.
— from Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy - is the silent cry of many a man who would give life itself for the opportunity to go back and retrieve some long-past error.
— from Pushing to the Front by Orison Swett Marden - Amory ingeniously tried to retrieve himself by blundering on purpose.
— from This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald - Potentially, we will be able to find and retrieve information from anywhere on the global grid of connected systems.
— from The Online World by Odd De Presno - This way of logging on to retrieve files is called "transfers by anonymous ftp."
— from The Online World by Odd De Presno - Some get excited when a program can dial a bulletin board, retrieve a program, and then disconnect without them having to touch the keyboard.
— from The Online World by Odd De Presno - One of the spaniels was taught to retrieve.
— from Dog Breaking The Most Expeditious, Certain, and Easy Method, Whether Great Excellence or Only Mediocrity Be Required, With Odds and Ends for Those Who Love the Dog and Gun by W. N. (William Nelson) Hutchinson
