Literary notes about Desperate (AI summary)
The term “desperate” is used in literature to evoke a sense of extreme urgency or severity, whether describing tangible situations, internal states, or actions born of dire need. It frequently characterizes conditions that are both critical and without clear resolution—as in the depiction of a state's crisis [1] or an army’s plight [2]—while also capturing moments of intense personal determination or resignation, such as a character’s frantic resolve [3] or futile yet bold actions [4]. In some contexts, the word underscores an almost paradoxical blend of fatalism and daring, as seen when it is employed to illustrate both the overwhelming obstacles faced by individuals and the radical measures they end up taking [5][6]. Overall, "desperate" functions as a versatile adjective in literature, richly conveying the precarious balance between hope and despair.
- [155] The terms of the Peace Treaty imposed on the Austrian Republic bear no relation to the real facts of that State's desperate situation.
— from The Economic Consequences of the Peace by John Maynard Keynes - Never was an army in a more desperate condition, and never was one extricated more gloriously and skillfully.
— from The Art of War by baron de Antoine Henri Jomini - “Logs … that is … but I’ll get tea directly,” he waved his hand as though with desperate determination and snatched up his cap.
— from The possessed : by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - Determined to make a desperate effort, Sigismond attacked the fortified camp of Zisca on Mount Tabor, and carried it with great slaughter.
— from Fox's Book of Martyrs by John Foxe - I do spy a kind of hope, Which craves as desperate an execution As that is desperate which we would prevent.
— from The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare - I have already observed that I don’t know how this desperate idea came into my brain.
— from David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
