Literary notes about Idiosyncrasy (AI summary)
The term "idiosyncrasy" in literary works serves as a versatile marker of uniqueness, highlighting the peculiar traits that define individuals, characters, or even cultural nuances. Writers deploy the word to capture those elements of personality or behavior that render a character memorable—whether it is the mysterious, inexplicable physical disposition noted in a character’s anatomy [1] or the distinct personal habit that marks a genius’ creative approach [2]. In philosophical texts, the term additionally frames broader discussions about the singularity of moral sentiments or national character [3, 4]. Moreover, its use spans from describing subtle personal quirks, such as a predisposition to a particular habit [5, 6], to emphasizing the signature stylistic qualities inherent in an author's work or a character's dialogue [7, 8]. Through such varied applications, authors and thinkers alike underline individual distinctiveness, effectively linking personal peculiarities to larger, sometimes even cultural, narratives.
- There is nothing in his anatomy to explain this idiosyncrasy.
— from Lippincott's Magazine, December, 1885 by Various - I am not sure, however, that it necessitates the highest genius, but rather a special idiosyncrasy in genius which the highest may or may not have.
— from The Parisians — Complete by Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron - What is the meaning of the moral idiosyncrasy ?—I mean this both in the psychological and physiological sense, as it was, for instance, in Pascal.
— from The Will to Power: An Attempted Transvaluation of All Values. Book I and II by Nietzsche - The definition of morality; Morality is the idiosyncrasy of decadents, actuated by a desire to avenge themselves with success upon life.
— from Ecce Homo by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche - At that moment—(ought I to attribute it to some peculiar idiosyncrasy)—I felt so great a heat that I was obliged to take off my coat.
— from Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne - At the end of that time my friends had grown accustomed to this idiosyncrasy and were making bets on how long I would last.
— from Cutting It Out How to get on the waterwagon and stay there by Samuel G. (Samuel George) Blythe - Shakespeare, however, seems to have given one such idiosyncrasy to Hamlet.
— from Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth by A. C. Bradley - Says he, “An idiom is the personal―if the word may be allowed―the personal idiosyncrasy of a language.
— from The Art Of Writing & Speaking The English LanguageWord-Study and Composition & Rhetoric by Sherwin Cody
