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Literary notes about wall (AI summary)

The word “wall” in literature serves as both a literal structure and a rich metaphor. It can denote physical boundaries or fortifications, as seen in historical or descriptive passages where walls protect cities or define spaces ([1], [2], [3]). Walls also emerge as symbols of division or obstacles that characters must confront, whether it’s the challenge of scaling a barrier in pursuit of freedom ([4]) or the metaphorical partitions that separate social classes and ideas ([5], [6]). In other instances, the wall is nearly a character in itself, setting the scene or holding secrets behind its surface—like the mysterious picture on a wall ([7]) or the room partition that conceals hidden truths ([8]). Through these diverse uses, “wall” becomes a multifaceted literary device that anchors a narrative’s setting, highlights conflicts, and even mirrors inner struggles.
  1. Bayer thinks the wall was probably built originally by one of the Antiochi, and renewed by the Sassanian Kobad or his son Naoshirwan.
    — from The Travels of Marco Polo — Volume 1 by Marco Polo and da Pisa Rusticiano
  2. [138] ALDGATE WARD The second ward within the wall, on the east part, is called Aldgate ward, as taking name of the same gate.
    — from The Survey of London by John Stow
  3. Round the cottage on the moor there was a piece of ground enclosed by a low wall of rough stones.
    — from The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
  4. “Well,” said the young man, “if you’re born on the wrong side of the wall, I can’t see that it’s wrong to climb over it.”
    — from The innocence of Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton
  5. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and breaking down the middle wall of partition, the enmities in his flesh: 2:15.
    — from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete
  6. We must watch for a breach in the living wall that hemmed us in; the wall that had only admitted us in order to shut us up.
    — from Moby Dick; Or, The Whale by Herman Melville
  7. He was particularly pleased with the appearance of a picture, on the wall opposite, which he himself had given them: “I'd no idea it was so good!”
    — from The Forsyte Saga, Volume I. by John Galsworthy
  8. She is to enter now, and I am to spy her through the wall.
    — from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare

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