Literary notes about tyrant (AI summary)
Literary authors use the word “tyrant” as a multilayered symbol that both denounces oppressive rule and evokes the destructive corruptions of power. In historical narratives, it serves as a pejorative epithet—Gibbon equates Dominus with a despotic figure in contrast to the ideal prince ([1]); while in epic and classical texts, thinkers such as Plato consider the tyrant as a cautionary figure whose unchecked ambition undermines the virtues of freedom and friendship ([2], [3], [4]). At the same time, novelists and dramatists employ “tyrant” to capture the personal and societal struggles against domination and moral decay, as seen when Douglass alludes to the oppressive character of a ruler’s home ([5]) or when Shakespeare’s characters lament being subjugated by a capricious sovereign ([6]). Thus, across genres and eras, “tyrant” remains a powerful metaphor for both political despotism and the internal conflicts that arise from the misuse of power.
- c. 3, 55, &c.) speaks of Dominus with execration, as synonymous to Tyrant, and opposite to Prince.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon - 332 , 349 , 350 , and Laws 8. 846 C); —of lands, proclaimed by the would-be tyrant, 8.
— from The Republic of Plato by Plato - But if so, the tyrant will live most unpleasantly, and the king most pleasantly?
— from The Republic by Plato - They are always either the masters or servants and never the friends of anybody; the tyrant never tastes of true freedom or friendship.
— from The Republic of Plato by Plato - There was neither joy in my heart, nor elasticity in my step, as I started in search of the tyrant’s home.
— from My Bondage and My Freedom by Frederick Douglass - As I told thee before, I am subject to a tyrant, a sorcerer, that by his cunning hath cheated me of the island.
— from The Tempest by William Shakespeare