Literary notes about GASP (AI summary)
The term "gasp" in literature conveys an immediate, often involuntary reaction to intense emotion or sudden physical sensation. It can denote the shock of a startling revelation or heighten moments of despair and mortality—as when a character nears the end of life ([1], [2], [3]). On the other hand, a gasp can also punctuate lighter moments, expressing amazement or even a touch of irony in dialogue ([4], [5], [6]). By encapsulating both the urgency of life’s climactic points and the subtle humor in human interaction, the word lends a vivid, sensory quality that deepens the reader’s engagement with the narrative ([7], [8]).
- “Not yet,” he answered, “but he is at his last gasp.”
— from Father Goriot by Honoré de Balzac - He had sunk down on the snow in the circle of his blood and was plainly in the last gasp.
— from White Fang by Jack London - I was in luck when I tumbled amongst them at my last gasp.”
— from Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad - The doctor murmured inarticulately, gave a long gasp or two and was still.
— from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Complete by Mark Twain - It was so very beautiful that the Mole could only hold up both fore-paws and gasp: "O my!
— from The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame - So in public speech, breathe naturally and do not talk until you must gasp for breath; nor until the audience is equally winded.
— from The Art of Public Speaking by Dale Carnegie and J. Berg Esenwein - Montague hath breath'd his last; And to the latest gasp cried out for Warwick, And said 'Commend me to my valiant brother.'
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare - The traitorous repulse that we have suffered indicates the last gasp, the final convulsions of the dying.
— from The Reign of Greed by José Rizal
