Literary notes about December (AI summary)
In literature, December is employed both as a precise chronological marker and as a symbol charged with mood and transformation. On one hand, many authors use December to pinpoint historical events, personal milestones, or travel narratives—with detailed dates appearing in diaries and letters such as “December 20th” [1] and “[Clark, December 5, 1805]” [2]—while historians and grammarians even note its adjectival qualities in comparative studies [3]. On the other hand, December’s evocative aura enables poets and novelists to imbue their work with sentiment and atmosphere; it can suggest melancholy, introspection, or even the promise of change in lines like “Thou gloomy December” [4] or in imagery that captures the interplay of wan light and wintry chill [5]. Thus, whether as a factual dating device or a metaphorical turning point, December in literature straddles the boundary between the concrete passage of time and the subtler realms of human emotion.
- December 20th.
— from Napoleon's Letters to Josephine, 1796-1812 by Emperor of the French Napoleon I - I fear Some accident has taken place in his craft or party H2 anchor [Clark, December 5, 1805] December 5th Thursday 1805
— from The Journals of Lewis and Clark, 1804-1806 by William Clark and Meriwether Lewis - The names of months, September , Octōber , November , December , are also adjectives with stems in -bri- , but are not used in the neuter.
— from A Latin Grammar for Schools and Colleges by George Martin Lane - Thou Gloomy December Ance mair I hail thee, thou gloomy December!
— from Poems and Songs of Robert Burns by Robert Burns - A wan ray of the December sun penetrated the window of the attic and lay upon the ceiling in long threads of light and shade.
— from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
