Literary notes about company (AI summary)
In literature, the term "company" often weaves multiple layers of meaning. It can highlight the warmth of shared human connection, as characters seek comfort in each other’s presence ([1], [2]), or, conversely, underscore loneliness and isolation when such companionship is lacking ([3], [4]). At times, it denotes a formal or organized group—a military unit or a collective of workers—emphasizing solidarity and the structure of social hierarchies ([5], [6]). Meanwhile, its use in philosophical and social treatises often reflects on the dynamics of human interactions and the influences of one's surroundings ([7], [8]). This multifaceted usage vividly reinforces themes of belonging and identity throughout the literary canon.
- "I'll come," she continued, "and keep you company while you have two or three cups, after which we'll have something to eat!"
— from Hung Lou Meng, or, the Dream of the Red Chamber, a Chinese Novel, Book I by Xueqin Cao - I found Uriah Heep among the company, in a suit of black, and in deep humility.
— from David Copperfield by Charles Dickens - There it was that he lived a miserable life, on account of his having no company, and his want of provisions.
— from Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus - Now there was not a rustle, not a breeze, not the faintest clash of twigs to keep her company.
— from Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy - “Let him carry a written order to De Bracy's company of Free Companions, to repair instantly to their master's aid.
— from Ivanhoe: A Romance by Walter Scott - Each of the captains then led his company to the Louvre, where the king held his review.
— from The three musketeers by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet - Will you then kindly answer, for the edification of the company and of myself?
— from The Republic by Plato - "Two is company, three is a crowd" suggests how easily the social equilibrium is disturbed by the entrance of a new factor in a social situation.
— from Introduction to the Science of Sociology by E. W. Burgess and Robert Ezra Park
