Literary notes about tangible (AI summary)
The word tangible in literature often functions as a bridge between the abstract and the concrete, imbuing elements of a narrative with a palpable, almost tactile reality. Authors deploy it to underscore both physical presence and metaphorical weight—a ghost made perceptible or a promise grounded in something as solid as property ([1], [2], [3]). In some works, tangible emphasizes what can be directly experienced or verified, contrasting with the abstract and the ethereal, as seen in discussions distinguishing material facts from intangible ideas ([4], [5]). It also serves to heighten emotional impact by marking moments or objects with a definitive, almost assured reality, whether in evoking a foreboding atmosphere or symbolizing steadfast elements in life ([6], [7], [8]).
- From the simple case of walking we may proceed to the more complex cases of dealings with tangible objects of property.
— from The Common Law by Oliver Wendell Holmes - "I can assure you," said I, "that it will take a very tangible ghost to frighten me."
— from The Country of the Blind, and Other Stories by H. G. Wells - The only tangible, secure thing was the woman.
— from The Rainbow by D. H. Lawrence - The higher arithmetic is concerned, not with visible or tangible objects, but with abstract numbers.
— from The Republic of Plato by Plato - Now that which is created is of necessity corporeal, and also visible and tangible.
— from Timaeus by Plato - At last, to reassure myself, I walked with a candle into it, and satisfied myself that there was nothing tangible there.
— from The Country of the Blind, and Other Stories by H. G. Wells - Its people, scenery, manners, joys, tragedies should be living, tangible interpreters of the real world.
— from The Story of My Life by Helen Keller - I shall smile upon them and bless them with my last breath, as the tangible angels of your happiness and mine.
— from Juliette Drouet's Love-Letters to Victor Hugo by Juliette Drouet and Louis Guimbaud
