Literary notes about swash (AI summary)
The term "swash" is employed with remarkable versatility in literature. In many narratives it vividly evokes the physical motion of water, describing the forceful surge of waves against boats or along the shore—as when the “swash of heavy water” underscores the power of a stormy sea ([1]) or when one feels “the swash of the fragrant water upon his body” ([2]). Beyond its watery connotations, the word also appears in nautical contexts as the name of vessels—like the recurring “Molly Swash” that sails through several passages ([3], [4])—and even as part of lively characterizations, lending a dashing flair to swash‐buckling heroes ([5], [6], [7]). Additionally, the term extends into the realm of typography, where “swash letters” denote ornate italic capitals chiseled with decorative tails ([8], [9]). Together, these uses imbue texts with dynamic imagery, whether describing the natural rhythm of the sea or the spirited vigor of adventurous figures.
- Look alive!” and mingled with his shout came the booming roar of wind, the swash of heavy water and the thunder of slatting canvas.
— from The Viking Blood: A Story of Seafaring by Frederick William Wallace - He felt the swash of the fragrant water upon his body.
— from The Red Badge of Courage: An Episode of the American Civil War by Stephen Crane - It is the Molly Swash, of New York, bound to Key West, and a market; and I have the honor to see Capt. Stephen Spike again.”
— from Graham's Magazine, Vol. XXX, No. 4, April 1847 by Various - The wharf in question had not a single vessel of any sort lying at, or indeed very near it, with the exception of the Molly Swash.
— from Jack Tier; Or, The Florida Reef by James Fenimore Cooper - But these are chance strokes; and they are dealt, as the whole attack is conceived, in the worst style of the professional swash- buckler.
— from English literary criticism by Charles Edwyn Vaughan - I do like those swash-bucklering varlets.
— from The Captain of the Wight: A Romance of Carisbrooke Castle in 1488 by Frank Cadogan Cowper - If a man is going to play the swashbuckler, I like to see him able to swash his buckle.
— from White Ashes by Alden Charles Noble - Swash Letters ( c ).—The name given to a style of italic capital letters with tails and flourishes, much used in the seventeenth century.
— from The Author's Desk Book Being a Reference Volume upon Questions of the Relations of the Author to the Publisher, Copyright, The Relation of the Contributor to the Magazine, Mechanics of the Book, Arrangement of the Book, Making of the Index, Etc. by William Dana Orcutt - Swash italic capitals properly used are valuable aids in securing attractive yet refined typographic effects.
— from The Art & Practice of Typography A Manual of American Printing, Including a Brief History up to the Twentieth Century, with Reproductions of the Work of Early Masters of the Craft, and a Practical Discussion and an Extensive Demonstration of the Modern Use of Type-faces and Methods of Arrangement by Edmund G. (Edmund Geiger) Gress
