Literary notes about Extraordinary (AI summary)
Across literature, "extraordinary" is employed to denote moments or qualities that surpass the usual bounds of experience or character. In one narrative it dramatizes an overwhelming emotional state that leaves a lasting impact [1], while in another it lends an air of mysterious silence that heightens anticipation [2]. Authors also use the term to characterize individuals by emphasizing unique traits or unexpected behavior, as seen when a character is described as both cheeky and remarkably singular [3] or when a magistrate expresses astonishment at a peculiar request [4]. Moreover, "extraordinary" can extend to portray unusual abilities or phenomena that defy simple explanation, thereby enriching the narrative’s atmosphere and deepening thematic contrasts [5], [6].
- Such an extraordinary effect in unmanning me it had that I ran weeping silently as a child might do.
— from The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells - Still this extraordinary silence appeared strange to him, and he called a second and third time; still no answer.
— from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet - You were rather cheeky, very shy, and absolutely extraordinary.
— from The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - ‘This is a most extraordinary request,’ said the magistrate.
— from The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens - The extraordinary powers which men possess in myths are mostly due to their knowledge of magic.
— from Argonauts of the Western Pacific by Bronislaw Malinowski - The idol of his pupils, and the admiration of his assistants, Alexander Petrovitch was gifted with an extraordinary measure of good sense.
— from Dead Souls by Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol
