Literary notes about stay (AI summary)
The word “stay” in literature emerges as a multifaceted term that can indicate both a physical halt and an emotional or narrative pause. In some works it serves as a direct command or plea—for instance, a character insists “Stay!” to halt movement or preserve a moment, as seen in [1] and [2]—while in others it conveys the idea of residence or temporary lodging, as evidenced by its use in contexts where characters “stay” in a place, such as in [3] and [4]. At times, “stay” functions to underscore a commitment or to mark a transitional moment within the plot, whether it be a reluctant pause or an intentional decision to remain in a particular state or location (compare [5] and [6]). This variability not only enriches the narrative texture of the texts but also mirrors the complex emotional and situational nuances that authors seek to evoke.
- “Stay, I think I told my steward yesterday to attend to this; perhaps I can render you this slight service also.”
— from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet - Wild with passion, and with the thought of losing her for ever, he cried aloud to the retreating vision, ‘Stay! stay!
— from British Goblins: Welsh Folk-lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions by Wirt Sikes - I behaved terribly to you—and I’ve disgraced the dear friends, Matthew and Marilla, who have let me stay at Green Gables although I’m not a boy.
— from Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery - It was there that they would stay; they would live in a low, flat-roofed house, shaded by a palm-tree, in the heart of a gulf, by the sea.
— from Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert - “I’ll stay a minute and then run home to see about dinner.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - He ascends the steps—heavily, for twenty years have stiffened his legs since he came down, but he knows it not.—Stay, Wakefield!
— from Twice-told tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne
