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Despair

Allusions--Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary | 1986 | Copyright

173. Despair (See also Futility.)

Achitophel hanged himself from despair when his advice went unheeded. [O.T.: II Samuel 17:23]
Aram, Eugene scholar murders from pressure of poverty. [Br. Lit.: Eugene Aram ]
Bowery, the Manhattan skid row for alcoholics. [Am. Hist.: Hart, 97]
Giant Despair imprisons Christian and Hopeful in Doubting Castle. [Br. Lit.: Pilgrim’s Progress ]
Hrothgar Danish king desperately distressed by warrior-killing monster. [Br. Lit.: Beowulf ]
Maurya mother loses six sons in the sea. [Br. Lit.: Riders to the Sea ]
Melusina fairy who despaired when husband discovered secret. [Fr. Folklore: Brewer Handbook, 695]
Narcissus wastes away yearning to kiss reflection of himself. [Gk. Myth.: Brewer Handbook, 745; Rom. Lit.: Metamorphoses ]
Slough of Despond bog enmiring and discouraging Christian. [Br. Lit.: Pilgrim’s Progress ]
Sullivan brothers mother despairs over losing her five sons in WWII (1942). [Am. Hist.: Facts (1943), 106]
Tristram or Tristan falsely told that Iseult is not coming to save him from fatal poisoning, he dies of despair. [Medieval Legend: Brewer Dictionary ]
Waiting for Godot tramps consider hanging themselves because Godot has failed to arrive to set things straight. [Anglo-French Drama: Samuel Beckett Waiting for Godot in Magill III, 1113]

Detection, Crime (See SLEUTHING .)

Destiny (See FATE .)

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"Despair." Allusions--Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary. 1986. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Despair." Allusions--Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary. 1986. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2505500182.html

"Despair." Allusions--Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary. 1986. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2505500182.html

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despair

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

de·spair / diˈspe(ə)r/ • n. the complete loss or absence of hope: driven to despair, he throws himself under a train | in despair, I hit the bottle. • v. [intr.] lose or be without hope: we should not despair | he was beginning to despair of ever knowing | [as adj.] (despairing) he gave a despairing little shrug. PHRASES: be the despair of be the cause of a feeling of hopelessness in (someone else): my handwriting was the despair of my teachers.DERIVATIVES: des·pair·ing·ly adv.

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"despair." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"despair." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-despair.html

"despair." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-despair.html

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despair

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Copyright

despair vb. XIV. f. despeir-, tonic stem of OF. desperer :- L. dēspērāre (see DESPERATE).
So despair sb. XIV. — AN. *despeir, for OF. desespeir (mod. désespoir).

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T. F. HOAD. "despair." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "despair." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-despair.html

T. F. HOAD. "despair." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-despair.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

	Computer ethics: an antidote to despair. Magazine article from: Mid-Atlantic Journal of Business; 3/1/1991
	The Evolution of Hope and Despair. Magazine article from: Social Research; 6/22/1999
	The Place of Despair and Hope. Magazine article from: Social Research; 6/22/1999