Literary notes about stroke (AI summary)
In literature “stroke” is a remarkably versatile term, employed to evoke both literal and metaphorical actions. It can describe a tender act, such as the gentle caress of a black cat [1], or function as a metaphor for chance and decisive moments—the sudden, fateful occurrence that alters a character’s life [2, 3]. At other times, “stroke” conveys physical violence or the final, fatal blow in battle [4, 5], while also marking precise moments in time or final acts, as when a bell’s toll signals the end of an event [6] or a stroke of genius cements a plan [7]. This varied usage reflects the richness of language, where a single word can span a spectrum of sensory and thematic functions.
- She was bending over her knitting and stopping occasionally to stroke a large black cat upon a stool beside her.
— from His Last Bow: An Epilogue of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle - Whosoever, having only a week to live, will not find out that it is expedient to believe that all this is not a stroke of chance ...
— from Pascal's Pensées by Blaise Pascal - at one's pleasure; by a dash if the pen, by a stroke of the pen
— from Roget's Thesaurus by Peter Mark Roget - But with one stroke Sir Gareth split the skull.
— from Idylls of the King by Baron Alfred Tennyson Tennyson - And therewith anon Pellinore smote him a great stroke through the helm and head unto the brows.
— from Le Morte d'Arthur: Volume 1 by Sir Thomas Malory - The stroke of the far-off bell had hardly died before the front door closed with a reverberating clang.
— from The Luck of Roaring Camp and Other Tales by Bret Harte - That idea of yours about the bromides was a stroke of genius!
— from The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
