Literary notes about high (AI summary)
In literature, "high" morphs seamlessly between literal and metaphorical meanings to enrich narrative and thematic layers. It can vividly evoke physical elevation, as when rockets soar at high altitudes or towers reach toward the heavens [1, 2], while simultaneously serving as a metaphor for lofty ideals and social stature, imbuing characters and institutions with an aura of honor or elevated virtue [3, 4, 5]. Moreover, the word intensifies emotional and dramatic moments, whether in the depiction of fervent anger or the buoyancy of high spirits [6, 7]. Its diverse deployment—from describing tangible heights to symbolizing superior quality or rank—underscores its power as a versatile literary device [8, 9].
- Frank Malina, project leader in the development of the WAC Corporal, stands beside the high-altitude sounding rocket.
— from Rockets, Missiles, and Spacecraft of the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution - And this average of seventeen miles a day had been maintained on rough and muddy roads, crossed by many unbridged streams, and over a high mountain.
— from The King James Version of the Bible - The disappointment of high hopes had jarred and tangled even the sweetness of his noble disposition.
— from Sybil, Or, The Two Nations by Earl of Beaconsfield Benjamin Disraeli - The citizen must have high ideals, and yet he must be able to achieve them in practical fashion.
— from African and European Addresses by Theodore Roosevelt - Woe to you, ungodly men, who have forsaken the law of the most high Lord.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - In the meantime, being roused to a high pitch of anger, I forced him to the vessel’s side, with the full intention of throwing him overboard.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Edition by Edgar Allan Poe - Levin spent that evening with his betrothed at Dolly’s, and was in very high spirits.
— from Anna Karenina by graf Leo Tolstoy - He told me that the air patrol had captured him before he reached the high tower of the palace, so that he had not even seen Sab Than.
— from A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs - " Awed by his high command the Greeks attend, The tumult silence, and the fight suspend.
— from The Iliad by Homer
