Literary notes about weak (AI summary)
The word "weak" serves a multifaceted role in literature, acting as both a literal descriptor of physical or emotional frailty and a metaphor for broader inefficacies or moral shortcomings. In some passages, it conveys a diminished strength or insubstantial quality—Shakespeare laments a "weak and idle theme" [1] and a character speaks in a "weak voice" that underscores vulnerability [2]. Elsewhere, it critiques the insufficiency of judgment or resolve, as when authors contrast robust capabilities with the inherent feebleness of certain ideas or characters [3, 4]. Whether evoking physical debility, unreliable intellect, or the inadequacy of societal structures, "weak" is employed to highlight contrasts that enrich the narrative and invite deeper reflection on human limitations [5, 6].
- And this weak and idle theme, No more yielding but a dream, Gentles, do not reprehend.
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare - She looked down into his face, with a pitiable tenderness, and said in a weak voice.
— from The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner - Elizabeth entered her lodging unhappily, thinking she had done no good, and only made herself appear foolish by her weak note of warning.
— from The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy - The weak generally mistrust the justice and the reason of the strong.
— from Democracy in America — Volume 1 by Alexis de Tocqueville - Weak things were often beautiful, weak things were never good.
— from This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald - Wounded and weak, and dripping fast with blood, A Fox crept wearily through mire and mud.
— from The Fables of La Fontaine by Jean de La Fontaine
