Literary notes about space (AI summary)
The term “space” in literature appears as a multifaceted concept that spans the physical, metaphysical, and metaphorical. It is often employed to evoke a palpable void or desolation, as when a divine absence turns a realm into a “dead space” [1] or when the endless night gives way to an unimaginably vast expanse [2]. At the same time, space serves as a measure—whether quantitative, as in measurable distances in ancient texts [3, 4], or temporal, capturing brief yet significant intervals of silence or reflection [5]. Authors also use it to articulate abstract states of being and perception, suggesting that thoughts, dreams, or even the essence of time and existence are entwined with space [6, 7].
- You have seen this dead space from which the living gods have departed.
— from Best Russian Short Stories - What was this strange reddish dawn in the interminable night of space?
— from The Country of the Blind, and Other Stories by H. G. Wells - And I saw in the house the height round about, the foundations of the side chambers which were the measure of a reed the space of six cubits: 41:9.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - But on the square of them, each side was extended the space of twenty feet.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - He looked steadily at Mr. Grummer for a brief space, and then said emphatically, ‘This is a private room, Sir.
— from The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens - 7. Difference between infinity of Space, and Space infinite.
— from An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, Volume 1 by John Locke - In my heart I feel the pulse of life; in my hands I feel power, and my proud thoughts, like eagles, fly through space.
— from Best Russian Short Stories