Literary notes about heart (AI summary)
The word heart is used in literature as a rich symbol that encapsulates both the inner emotional life and the moral or spiritual core of a character. It is frequently portrayed as the repository of feelings and memories—where joy, grief, love, and hope intertwine—as seen when characters offer their heart in devotion ([1], [2]) or when a heart aches with longing and sorrow ([3], [4]). It also frequently represents courage and purity, symbolizing the steadfast inner resource that drives one to act nobly ([5], [6]). In many narratives the heart stands not only as a physical organ but as an emblem of vulnerability and resilience, a silent witness to the transformation of the self ([7], [8], [9]).
- He will give his heart to resort early to the Lord that made him, and he will pray in the sight of the most High.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - To show that the Word, when it works effectually, cleanseth the heart and mind.
— from The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan Every Child Can Read by John Bunyan - Sad, yes, sad thoughts of thee my heart doth swell, And burning recollections throng my brow!
— from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Complete by Mark Twain - “After the murder of Clerval I returned to Switzerland, heart-broken and overcome.
— from Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - But we must be brave of heart and unselfish, and do our duty, and all will be well!”
— from Dracula by Bram Stoker - Her heart did whisper that he had done it for her.
— from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - What wild heart-histories seemed to he enwritten Upon those crystalline, celestial spheres!
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Edition by Edgar Allan Poe - With a light heart I put on a sola hat like the sahebs, and drove out to my work.
— from The Hungry Stones, and Other Stories by Rabindranath Tagore - How infinitely good God is, Babette!" "I have such complete happiness in my heart," said she.
— from Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen by H. C. Andersen