Literary notes about shine (AI summary)
In literature, “shine” is a versatile term that often blends the literal play of light with metaphorical qualities of virtue, divinity, and emotional warmth. It is used to suggest how personal qualities can reflect and amplify one’s character—as when a friendship is depicted as a mutual interplay of luminous reflections [1]. In many sacred and epic writings, the word transcends mere physical brightness to evoke a sense of spiritual illumination and divine favor, where moral truth and wisdom are portrayed as rays of light spreading over darkness [2][3][4]. At the same time, authors use “shine” to animate the natural world and everyday moments, whether in the gentle glow of a home’s lights or the majestic sparkle of celestial bodies that inspire hope and transformation [5][6][7]. Thus, across genres and eras, the imagery of shining effectively conveys both the tangible beauty of light and its power as a metaphor for clarity, guidance, and the enduring nature of goodness.
- And I shine in her reflected light, for our friendship, as she says, is founded on a rock.
— from The Gay Cockade by Temple Bailey - And, O Pandu’s son, (at that place) luminaries cannot shine by him; there that lord of inconceivable soul alone shineth transcendental.
— from The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 1 - For I make doctrine to shine forth to all as the morning light, and I will declare it afar off.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - Thou shalt decree a thing, and it shall come to thee, and light shall shine in thy ways.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - "How the home lights shine out tonight through the dark!" said Anne.
— from Anne's House of Dreams by L. M. Montgomery - The waning moon began to shine over the horizon, illumining the clouds and making the trees and houses east long, fantastic shadows.
— from The Social Cancer: A Complete English Version of Noli Me Tangere by José Rizal - How bright shine the cutlasses of the foremost troops!
— from Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
