Literary notes about spark (AI summary)
Writers use “spark” as a versatile symbol, evoking both a literal flash of energy and a metaphor for a sudden burst of potential. It can ignite physical reactions—whether it’s a spark from a flint striking against steel ([1]), an electric spark in machinery ([2], [3]), or the tiny flame that heralds an explosion ([4], [5])—or it can denote the inception of an emotional, intellectual, or moral awakening. In literature, the spark is often depicted as the first sign of something transformative: a catalyst that sets off a chain reaction of passion, reason, or even rebellion, as when a character seeks “the spark to fire his mine” ([6]) or when a “divinely implanted spark of reason” is said to constitute the human soul ([7]). In this way, the spark serves as a powerful metaphor for the moment when latent potential is kindled into full flame.
- A spark of it struck out of a Flint (or Firestone), 2. by means of a Steel , 1. and taken by Tynder in a Tynder-box , 3.
— from The Orbis Pictus by Johann Amos Comenius - Furiously he tested the spark-plugs, stared at the commutator.
— from Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis - The spark is intensely hot, and suffices to ignite the compressed charge in the cylinder.
— from How it Works by Archibald Williams - A large fire often comes from a small spark.
— from A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs - The smallest spark may here kindle into the greatest flame; because the materials are always prepared for it.
— from An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding by David Hume - When we enter that house, Mr. Brown will not draw back—he will risk all, on the chance of obtaining the spark to fire his mine.
— from The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie - ‘This, united to the divinely implanted spark of reason,’ says Philalethes, ‘constitutes, on Dante’s system, a human soul.
— from The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri: The Inferno by Dante Alighieri
