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Literary notes about relentless (AI summary)

In literature, the adjective "relentless" is often employed to evoke a sense of unyielding force or an unstoppable, pervasive quality in both natural and human-powered phenomena. It can describe literal elements like an unremitting sea or harsh weather, as when hope is depicted sinking "like spent swimmers in a relentless sea" ([1]), or metaphorically, when fate or antagonistic forces pursue with unwavering determination, as seen in references to a "relentless foe" ([2]). Authors use the term to intensify conflict or underscore the inevitability of an action—whether it’s the grim defiance in the face of an enemy ([3]) or the soul-stirring logic driving an individual's self-realization ([4]). In these ways, "relentless" becomes a powerful literary device, imbuing narratives with a persistent, almost elemental energy that heightens the stakes and deepens the emotional resonance of the text ([5], [6]).
  1. But almost instantly his hopes sank back, like spent swimmers in a relentless sea.
    — from The Best Short Stories of 1917, and the Yearbook of the American Short Story
  2. He had a wild hate for the relentless foe.
    — from The Red Badge of Courage: An Episode of the American Civil War by Stephen Crane
  3. Turning a relentless look on his enemy, he shook a hand in grim defiance.
    — from The Last of the Mohicans; A narrative of 1757 by James Fenimore Cooper
  4. He drove along the path of relentless logic to the conclusion that he was nobody, nothing.
    — from Martin Eden by Jack London
  5. It was cold, hard, relentless, and unflinching.
    — from The Luck of Roaring Camp and Other Tales by Bret Harte
  6. With relentless logic the last step was reached, and this was the absolute demand to deny Nature.
    — from The Will to Power: An Attempted Transvaluation of All Values. Book I and II by Nietzsche

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