Literary notes about stag (AI summary)
The word “stag” in literature serves as a multifaceted symbol that can denote both the hunted and the majestic, depending on context. In many fables and folklore narratives, the stag is portrayed as a creature pursued by hunters—a central figure in dramatic chases and moral allegories [1][2][3]—while in other works it epitomizes nobility and stately grace, often employed in heraldic imagery or as a metaphor for elegance and speed [4][5][6]. Additionally, it can appear in more humorous or ironic settings, underscoring its versatility as a literary device that enriches a narrative’s symbolic landscape [7].
- They hunted and they hunted till at last they surprised a Stag, and soon took its life.
— from The Fables of Aesop by Aesop - THE STAG AND THE VINE A Stag, pursued by the huntsmen, concealed himself under cover of a thick Vine.
— from Aesop's Fables; a new translation by Aesop - The Stag at the Pool A STAG overpowered by heat came to a spring to drink.
— from Aesop's Fables by Aesop - The sea-stag is referred to under the sub-heading of stags.
— from A Complete Guide to Heraldry by Arthur Charles Fox-Davies - It was a stag, a stag of ten, Bearing its branches sturdily; He came stately down the glen,— Ever sing hardily, hardily.
— from The Lady of the Lake by Walter Scott - He was as swift to war as a torrent tearing down to sea, and as speedy to begin battle as a stag is to fly with cleft foot upon his fleet way.
— from The Danish History, Books I-IX by Grammaticus Saxo - The boa constrictor doesn't mind the opinions of a stag one little bit when once she has got her coils round it.
— from Man and Superman: A Comedy and a Philosophy by Bernard Shaw
