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Literary notes about sconce (AI summary)

In literature, "sconce" is employed both as a tangible object and as a vehicle for figurative expression. Often it describes a small, wall-fixed holder for a candle that casts a soft, flickering light onto darkened rooms or ornate settings, lending an air of antiquity and mystery as seen with a tin sconce trembling in the night ([1]) or an alabaster one casting its glow before a bed ([2]). At times, the term ventures into metaphorical terrain, standing in for a head or emblem of authority, and even serving as a label in playful or satirical discourse, as when it characterizes the acts of punishment or dignified posture in dramatic encounters ([3], [4], [5]). Thus, the term enriches the narrative by bridging the physical and the abstract in its varied literary applications.
  1. A candle stuck in a tin sconce on the wall flickered as the night wind blew freshly through a broken pane of the window.
    — from The Luck of Roaring Camp and Other Tales by Bret Harte
  2. “The maid lighted the taper in the alabaster sconce that hung before the bed, while her mistress sat thoughtful and silent before the fire.
    — from The Magic Skin by Honoré de Balzac
  3. 'Sconce and ensconce are constantly used figuratively for hide.
    — from Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare
  4. "Now, sirrah," said he sternly to Hans; "lift thy pumpkin head, and behold how I will punish thee for that dirl on the sconce thou gavest me!"
    — from Bothwell; or, The Days of Mary Queen of Scots, Volume 3 (of 3) by James Grant
  5. Or I will beat this method in your sconce.
    — from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare

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