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Literary notes about sweep (AI summary)

The word “sweep” serves as a versatile literary device, oscillating between the literal and the metaphorical. In some works, it denotes the physical act of cleaning—a humble yet tangible motion, as when a character clears away dust from a room [1][2][3]. In other contexts, it assumes a grander, more symbolic role, evoking the sense of erasure or transformation: sweeping away corruption, past grievances, or even entire groups, as expressions of decisive change or overwhelming force in both personal and political realms [4][5][6]. Moreover, “sweep” can capture elegant, far-reaching movement, whether in describing the graceful gesture of a hand or the expansive vista of rolling hills and seascapes [7][8][9]. This duality allows authors to bridge the mundane and the monumental, lending a dynamic quality to narrative progression and thematic expression.
  1. But I want to sweep the room—you had better get out of the dust.”
    — from Roughing It in the Bush by Susanna Moodie
  2. I took the broom from the corner, and began to sweep; still my visitor did not stir.
    — from Roughing It in the Bush by Susanna Moodie
  3. When she had finished her bread they gave her a broom and told her to sweep away the snow from the back door.
    — from The Red Fairy Book
  4. A shudder seemed to sweep over his whole body at the recollection.
    — from The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  5. It is a flame, the Jews of Eastern Europe hope, and many Jews of America also, which will sweep round the world.
    — from The International Jew : The World's Foremost Problem by Anonymous
  6. Let us take a little wider and freer sweep of thought and ask ourselves what is the ultimate point and meaning of this odd business called voting.
    — from What's Wrong with the World by G. K. Chesterton
  7. Then a young reaper whets his scythe and, with a strong sweep, cuts down the handful.
    — from The Golden Bough: A Study of Magic and Religion by James George Frazer
  8. The view was magnificent, taking in the harbor and the sweep of low, purple hills beyond.
    — from Anne's House of Dreams by L. M. Montgomery
  9. The cavalcade, following the sweep of the drive, quickly turned the angle of the house, and I lost sight of it.
    — from Jane Eyre: An Autobiography by Charlotte Brontë

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