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Literary notes about few (AI summary)

In literature, the word “few” is often employed as a precise quantifier that conveys not just numerical scarcity but also an emotional or dramatic nuance. Authors use “few” to denote a small, countable number—as seen when noting that “few flowering plants extend above 10,000 feet” ([1]) or when describing moments that last “a few minutes” ([2], [3])—and to underscore a sense of limitation or selectivity, such as with “few additional experiences” becoming clear ([4]) or characters uttering “a few words” that carry significant weight ([5], [6]). Moreover, “few” appears in diverse contexts, from indicating sparse natural or human elements in landscapes and society ([7], [8], [9]) to stressing the brief duration of events that leave a lasting impression ([10], [11], [12]). This careful selection of “few” reflects the author's intent to weave precision, mood, and sometimes irony into the narrative fabric of their work.
  1. Few flowering plants extend above 10,000 feet, but they have been found as high as 12,000 feet.
    — from The New Gresham Encyclopedia. A to Amide by Various
  2. The light which had burned for a few minutes in the deserted cabin was quenched suddenly.
    — from The Luck of Roaring Camp and Other Tales by Bret Harte
  3. After a few minutes my feet were free.
    — from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda
  4. A few additional experiences will now be perfectly clear.
    — from The Principles of Psychology, Volume 1 (of 2) by William James
  5. He carefully chose these few.
    — from The Rainbow by D. H. Lawrence
  6. "Agreed," said Cathcart, always a man of few words.
    — from The Wendigo by Algernon Blackwood
  7. Among the extremely few respects in which human history shows unquestionable growth we must include the degree and range of self-consciousness.
    — from Introduction to the Science of Sociology by E. W. Burgess and Robert Ezra Park
  8. Beyond those fields, a few hundred paces distant, rose the outskirts of a great forest, stretching far away over a gently undulating country.
    — from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass
  9. Of 600,000 men, few escaped to tell the tale of slaughter.
    — from The Moors in Spain by Stanley Lane-Poole
  10. In a few moments the voices were silent, and there was no sound of footstep, and the inner light went out.
    — from Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
  11. Elinor for a few moments remained silent.
    — from Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
  12. She was silent for a few moments; her next remark showed that she had been struggling with mental arithmetic.
    — from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda

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