Literary notes about ship (AI summary)
The word “ship” in literature serves as much more than just a vessel for travel—it often embodies themes of journey, authority, and fate. In many narratives, such as in Jules Verne’s adventures, the ship is a setting where orders are given and challenges are met head‑on, as seen when a chief officer’s familiar call echoes throughout the ship’s interior ([1]) or when technical dilemmas arise mid-voyage ([2]). Epic works, like those of Homer, use the ship to underscore peril and heroism, vividly portraying it amidst the fury of nature and historical conflict ([3], [4], [5]). This multifaceted symbol extends into historical and metaphorical realms too: philosophers and historians discuss the ship in terms of military might or statecraft ([6], [7], [8]), while other authors imply a more introspective or symbolic journey, where the ship reflects the inner workings of life or leadership ([9], [10]). Thus, across genres and epochs, the ship functions as a dynamic motif that captures both literal maritime exploits and the broader human quest for direction and meaning.
- The chief officer would then climb onto the platform, and his usual phrase would ring through the ship's interior.
— from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas: An Underwater Tour of the World by Jules Verne - How can I make gunpowder on my ship when I have no saltpeter, sulfur, or charcoal?"
— from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas: An Underwater Tour of the World by Jules Verne - Thus speaking, on the circling wall he strung A ship's tough cable from a column hung; Near the high top he
— from The Odyssey by Homer - As the sail bellied out with the wind, the ship flew through the deep blue water, and the foam hissed against her bows as she sped onward.
— from The Odyssey by Homer - He found him by the stern of his ship already putting his goodly array about his shoulders, and right glad was he that his brother had come.
— from The Iliad by Homer - If the ship strikes upon Scylla, it is dashed in pieces against the rocks; if upon Charybdis, it is swallowed outright.
— from Bacon's Essays, and Wisdom of the Ancients by Francis Bacon - On the 22d of January, 1782, an English fifty-gun ship, the "Hannibal," was taken.
— from The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783 by A. T. Mahan - But when Curry heard of the difficulty, he came forward, solitary and alone, and shouldered the Ship of State over the bar and got her afloat again.
— from Roughing It by Mark Twain - But look ye, the only real owner of anything is its commander; and hark ye, my conscience is in this ship’s keel.—On deck!”
— from Moby Dick; Or, The Whale by Herman Melville - Thus then by these twain factors, severally, Body is borne like ship with oars and wind.
— from On the Nature of Things by Titus Lucretius Carus
