Literary notes about HOWL (AI summary)
The term "howl" serves as a powerful auditory symbol throughout literature, embodying everything from raw animal instinct to profound human despair. It can denote a bitter lamentation or a wild, untamable outburst, such as the low, plaintive cry in moments of shame and sorrow [1] or the desperate, unearthly sound that shatters a quiet night [2]. Its usage spans naturalistic portrayals—as when wolves or other creatures emit mournful howls in eerie landscapes—to metaphorical expressions of societal or personal anguish seen in lofty, biblical verse [3]. In every instance, "howl" punctuates the text as an evocative expression of intense emotion and primal urgency.
- The woman was commencing a low and plaintive howl at the sad and shameful spectacle, when the chief put forth his hand and gently pushed her aside.
— from The Last of the Mohicans; A narrative of 1757 by James Fenimore Cooper - With a last howl of agony and a vicious snap in the air, it rolled upon its back, four feet pawing furiously, and then fell limp upon its side.
— from The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle - Howl, O gate; cry, O city: all Philistia is thrown down: for a smoke shall come from the north, and there is none that shall escape his troop.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete
