Literary notes about stubborn (AI summary)
"Stubborn" is employed in literature to evoke an unyielding nature—whether in human temperament or in the forces of nature. Shakespeare, for example, uses it to underscore a character’s obstinate behavior in interpersonal dynamics ([1], [2]), while Hawthorne harnesses the image of "stubborn roots" to symbolize nature’s persistent defiance ([3]). The term also emerges in moral and philosophical contexts, as when a biblical passage describes a person's intractable, perverse disposition ([4]) or when Milton contemplates a spirit that remains unswayed in the face of disaster ([5]). Across these varied settings, "stubborn" not only highlights a commendable determination but also reinforces the idea that resolute defiance, when unchecked, can lead to both creative drive and unintended ruin.
- You bear too stubborn and too strange a hand Over your friend that loves you.
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare - You stubborn ancient knave, you reverent braggart, We’ll teach you.
— from The Tragedy of King Lear by William Shakespeare - The stubborn roots of the trees break our ploughshares when we would till the earth.
— from Twice-told tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne - .That is, in punishment of his past sins he left him to his own stubborn and perverse disposition, which drew him to his ruin.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - Whether some overwhelming disaster, a Jena or a Waterloo, followed by instant invasion, would have subdued her stubborn spirit is problematical.
— from Paradise Lost by John Milton
