Literary notes about plain (AI summary)
Literary authors employ the word “plain” in diverse ways to evoke both clarity and simplicity, as well as to render vivid descriptions of the natural world and human character. At times it conveys directness or unmistakable truth, as when a speaker insists on a “plain answer” ([1], [2]) or declares that something is self-evident ([3], [4]). In other instances, “plain” serves as a marker of simplicity or unadorned quality, whether describing a person’s modest appearance ([5], [6]) or the unpretentious design of an object ([7], [8]). Moreover, many authors use the term to depict vast, open landscapes—the stretch of a battle scene or rural setting—as seen in references to wide, unobstructed fields ([9], [10], [11]). Thus, “plain” becomes a multifaceted tool in literature, enriching both language and imagery.
- " But Mrs. Maloney could not give a plain answer.
— from Lady Audley's Secret by M. E. Braddon - We told him not to be afraid, but to speak the plain truth: Was it the fossil of a pre-Adamite whale, or was it an early Roman coffin?
— from Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) by Jerome K. Jerome - One of the sublimest things in the world is plain Truth.
— from Things to be Remembered in Daily Life With Personal Experiences and Recollections by John Timbs - It seems plain that it is not thought which produces the truth of the proposition 'I am in my room'.
— from The Problems of Philosophy by Bertrand Russell - His plain neighbors loved him; and one said, when he was laid in his grave, "How lonesome the world seems!"
— from The Art of Public Speaking by Dale Carnegie and J. Berg Esenwein - Fyodor’s wife, Sofya, a plain, ailing woman, lives at home at her father-in-law’s.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - Plain white or gray or granite paper, large in size and stamped in the simplest manner.
— from Etiquette by Emily Post - Tinted cards may be used, but plain white ones are much more elegant.
— from The Gentlemen's Book of Etiquette and Manual of Politeness by Cecil B. Hartley - He said; and, striding, issued on the plain.
— from The Aeneid by Virgil - They had made a big half circle across the plain, and were spreading out into a line.
— from The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling - Full fifty more from Athens stem the main, Led by Menestheus through the liquid plain.
— from The Iliad by Homer
