Literary notes about Babble (AI summary)
The word "babble" in literature is remarkably versatile, often conveying both the sound of nature and the murmur of human discourse. In some works, it denotes meaningless or incoherent chatter—a way to capture characters speaking without substance or clarity, as seen when a conversation devolves into idle prattle [1, 2, 3]. In other contexts, it evokes the organic, ever-present sounds of the natural world, such as a gently flowing stream or a lively brook that “babbles” amid the countryside [4, 5, 6]. This dual usage enriches narrative texture by blurring the lines between the trivial chatter of everyday language and the rhythmic, soothing patterns of nature, thereby deepening the reader’s sense of atmosphere and the characters’ inner lives [7, 8].
- But I will see these strangers with their levels and chains...' 'What was the upshot of last night's babble?' said the lama, after his orisons.
— from Kim by Rudyard Kipling - Perhaps I am not reporting it quite right and don’t know how to report it, but the drift of the babble was something of that sort.
— from The possessed : by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - Shame seals his lips, or, if it doesn't do that, makes him lose his morale and start to babble.
— from Right Ho, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse - She woke: the babble of the stream Fell, and without the steady glare Shrank one sick willow 9 sere and small.
— from The Early Poems of Alfred Lord Tennyson by Baron Alfred Tennyson Tennyson - Creeping thro' blossomy rushes and bowers of rose-blowing bushes, Down by the poplar tall rivulets babble and fall.
— from The Early Poems of Alfred Lord Tennyson by Baron Alfred Tennyson Tennyson - Keep where thou canst hear the babble of the brook."
— from The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne - endeavour thyself to sleep, and leave thy vain bibble-babble.
— from Twelfth Night; Or, What You Will by William Shakespeare - " "Let us lay aside vain babble," says Brynhild.
— from The Story of the Volsungs (Volsunga Saga); with Excerpts from the Poetic Edda