Literary notes about Immediately (AI summary)
In literature, the adverb "immediately" is employed to intensify the temporal proximity between actions or events, highlighting a seamless chain of cause and effect. It often emphasizes how swiftly one action follows another, as seen when a character resumes an activity without pause [1] or when a transformative moment occurs the very instant after a significant event [2]. In narrative and philosophical texts alike, "immediately" is used to stress rapid recognition or change—whether it is a sudden realization of causal relationships [3] or an instantaneous shift in sentiment [4]—and to underscore the urgency or inevitability of outcomes, as illustrated by the abrupt transition between dramatic actions and their consequences [5]. This versatile use not only propels the narrative forward but also deepens the reader's engagement with the relentless pace at which life’s events unfold [6].
- He resumed them immediately after your departure.
— from Right Ho, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse - I answered this immediately by saying: COLD HARBOR, VA., June 6, 1864.
— from Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant, Complete by Ulysses S. Grant - I immediately perceive, that they are contiguous in time and place, and that the object we call cause precedes the other we call effect.
— from A Treatise of Human Nature by David Hume - " But he was immediately ashamed of his mutterings and ceased.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - His body was immediately riddled by a volley of arrows, and his whole army thrown into confusion.
— from The Art of War by active 6th century B.C. Sunzi - Miss Bingley immediately fixed her eyes on his face, and desired he would tell her what lady had the credit of inspiring such reflections.
— from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
