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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].
  1. 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
  2. He made also an altar of brass twenty cubits long, and twenty cubits broad, and ten cubits high.
    — from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. The Daily Herald is only the brass band of the Revolution.
    — from Secret societies and subversive movements by Nesta Helen Webster
  6. ‘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
  7. ‘He he he!’ cried Brass faintly, as he again applied himself to the odious pipe.
    — from The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens
  8. 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
  9. The votive offerings, which are sometimes of copper or brass, take strange forms.
    — from Omens and Superstitions of Southern India by Edgar Thurston

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