What does lay mean in "lay the Great American Novel"?
I am reading an obituary about Stan Lee in the Economist, and I came across the sentence above, I don't quite understand the meaning of 'lay' here.
The context is as follows:
He loved the sound of words, the music of vowels and the consonants jostling each other. Inside him, he really believed, lay the Great American Novel!
Thank you for your help.
Search from various English teachers...
Answers · 3
1
Lay in this context means waited, rested, or existed. Stan Lee believed a great novel existed in his mind, waiting to be written.
English artists sometimes talk about lacking the skill to properly express their imagination. A sculpture or painter might have beautiful dreams but be unable to express them in their art.
"Inside him, he really believed, lay the Great American Novel!" has a similar feeling of longing.
A cynical and literal analysis would be: Stan was convinced he "had" the Great American Novel but lacked the time/skill/luck to make it real.
0
The Great American Novel lay inside him.
0
（He really believed (that)）the Great American Novel lay (past tense of 'lie') inside him.
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