Literary notes about brass (AI summary)
In literature, the word “brass” is deployed in a remarkably versatile manner, often oscillating between literal and metaphorical applications. It is used to describe physical materials—ranging from musical instruments and decorative fixtures [1, 2] to utilitarian items such as dinner-bells and vessels [3, 4]—thereby evoking a sense of durability and enduring luster. At the same time, “brass” functions symbolically to characterize boldness or audacity, as seen when it underscores revolutionary spirit or even becomes a moniker for certain characters whose names resonate with their distinctive attributes [5, 6, 7]. This dual usage highlights the capacity of “brass” to simultaneously anchor a narrative in tangible reality and suggest deeper, figurative meanings that enrich a text’s aesthetic and thematic layers [8, 9].
- A chord scored for full brass doubled by the same chords scored for full wood-wind (in pairs) produces a magnificent and uniform tone.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - He made also an altar of brass twenty cubits long, and twenty cubits broad, and ten cubits high.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - The night after Old Chris had gone, Abbie took the brass dinner-bell from the pantry shelf and set it on the chair beside her bed.
— from The Best Short Stories of 1917, and the Yearbook of the American Short Story - They possess copper and brass vessels, mortar, chopping knives, sickles, [ 248 ] spades, flint and steel.
— from Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 7 of 7 by Edgar Thurston - The Daily Herald is only the brass band of the Revolution.
— from Secret societies and subversive movements by Nesta Helen Webster - ‘I can’t see anything but the curtain of the bed,’ said Brass, applying his eye to the keyhole of the door.
— from The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens - ‘He he he!’ cried Brass faintly, as he again applied himself to the odious pipe.
— from The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens - And he cast two pillars in brass, each pillar was eighteen cubits high: and a line of twelve cubits compassed both the pillars. 7:16.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - The votive offerings, which are sometimes of copper or brass, take strange forms.
— from Omens and Superstitions of Southern India by Edgar Thurston