Literary notes about rope (AI summary)
Writers employ the word “rope” in multifaceted ways that enrich both the literal and metaphorical textures of their narratives. It may serve a practical role—a lifeline or a tool for descent or ascent, as seen when characters use it to escape confinement or reach distant realms ([1], [2], [3])—or it embodies darker tones by symbolizing fate, binding, or punishment, whether in the grim act of hanging or as an instrument of retribution ([4], [5], [6]). In other accounts, the rope also becomes a marker of ingenuity and resourcefulness, facilitating adventures and dangerous endeavors while subtly underscoring the precarious balance between liberation and entrapment ([7], [8], [9]).
- The Prince went home, told his father all that had happened, and asked him to have a leather rope plaited, long enough to reach to the other world.
— from Russian Fairy Tales: A Choice Collection of Muscovite Folk-lore - Tonga then pulled up the rope, closed the window, and made off the way that he had come.
— from The Sign of the Four by Arthur Conan Doyle - But there’s one thing—he can have a rope ladder; we can tear up our sheets and make him a rope ladder easy enough.
— from Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain - The rope that was used to hang the Negro, and also that which was used to lead him from the jail, were eagerly sought by relic hunters.
— from The Red Record by Ida B. Wells-Barnett - Never speak of a rope in the house of one who was hanged.
— from A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs - Stand fast, good Fate, to his hanging: make the rope of his destiny our cable, for our own doth 30 little advantage.
— from The Tempest by William Shakespeare - CHAPTER XXXIV HUCK said: “Tom, we can slope, if we can find a rope.
— from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Complete by Mark Twain - He took as many of the biggest nails as he could find, a very long rope, and a strong hammer.
— from Filipino Popular Tales - He was insignificant in size, and his rope seemed only a thread.
— from The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain