Literary notes about surface (AI summary)
Literary authors employ "surface" both as a literal boundary and as a metaphor for what is apparent versus what lies beneath. In adventure narratives, the term often denotes the tangible meeting place of elements, such as water rising to meet the air or land forming the upper boundary of the earth ([1], [2], [3]). In dramatic works, however, "surface" may indicate a facade that conceals deeper meanings or hidden truths, suggesting that appearances can be misleading ([4], [5]). Meanwhile, scientific and descriptive texts use it to refer to measurable, physical extents, underscoring its role in conveying both precision and abstract concepts ([6], [7]). This multifaceted use of "surface" enriches literature by inviting readers to consider both the visible and the underlying.
- At length the mass of cachalots broke up, the waves became quiet, and I felt that we were rising to the surface.
— from Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne - In this locality a number of sea turtles were sleeping on the surface of the waves.
— from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas: An Underwater Tour of the World by Jules Verne - At about half-past eleven the reservoirs were emptied, and our vessel rose to the surface of the ocean.
— from Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne - So—so—then I perceive your Prescription is that I must sin in my own Defence—and part with my virtue to preserve my Reputation.— SURFACE.
— from The School for Scandal by Richard Brinsley Sheridan - ii. 14, ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ. More lurks under these words than appears on the surface.
— from St. Paul's Epistles to the Colossians and Philemon by J. B. Lightfoot - This is an important structural line, marking as it does the limit of the spherical surface of the eyeball, on which surface the eyelids are placed.
— from The Practice and Science of Drawing by Harold Speed - The most powerful "mammoth" American locomotives have 350 or more tubes, which, with the fire-box, give 4,000 square feet of surface
— from How it Works by Archibald Williams
