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Literary notes about sojourn (AI summary)

The term “sojourn” in literature is often used to evoke the idea of a transient stay that carries both a literal and metaphorical significance. Writers employ it to refer to temporary residences in distant or unfamiliar lands, as seen when travelers remark on their brief visits to foreign cultures [1] or experience the bittersweet feeling of being a stranger even in well-known places [2]. Its usage spans genres and eras—from the romantic interludes of classic narratives [3] and the reflective tones in biblical passages [4] to the more modern and nuanced depictions in travel memoirs and novels [5]. In many works, the word encapsulates not merely a physical dwelling but also the ephemeral nature of human life and experience, suggesting that every stay, however brief, leaves an indelible mark on the soul [6] and informs one’s journey through a world in constant flux [7].
  1. I pass over our sojourn there, which, though not without its own interest, was not long enough for me to gain any useful knowledge of China.
    — from A Diplomat in Japan by Ernest Mason Satow
  2. His sojourn in Winesburg was not a success.
    — from Winesburg, Ohio: A Group of Tales of Ohio Small Town Life by Sherwood Anderson
  3. I refer to the romantic sojourn of Paul and Virginia here.
    — from Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World by Mark Twain
  4. And a certain man of Bethlehem Juda, went to sojourn in the land of Moab with his wife and his two sons. 1:2.
    — from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete
  5. But his sojourn in England was more than a joy to Mr. Douglass.
    — from My Bondage and My Freedom by Frederick Douglass
  6. My heart to her but as guest-wise sojourn'd; And now to Helen is it home return'd, There to remain.
    — from A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
  7. What could it mean? Were my eyes weakened by my long sojourn in the World within a World, playing me cruel tricks?
    — from Baron Trump's Marvellous Underground Journey by Ingersoll Lockwood

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