Literary notes about Inquired (AI summary)
The term "inquired" frequently appears to introduce questions in literary dialogue, serving both as an inquiry and a subtle tool to reveal character emotion or social context. Authors use it to infuse a sense of formality or deliberation in their exchanges, as when a character asks about another’s identity or intentions in a measured tone [1, 2]. In some passages, the word enhances the narrative by implying a gentle curiosity, such as when a character seeks details about a distant event or condition [3, 4]. Meanwhile, its placement within a sentence sometimes conveys a rhythmic or even ironic cadence, contributing to the texture of the dialogue as seen in works by Dickens and his contemporaries [5, 6, 7]. Overall, "inquired" functions as a quiet yet potent marker of questioning, layered with the stylistic nuances of its literary milieu [8, 9].
- Then the pair passed on again, and Bazarov inquired of his companion: "Who was she?" "To whom are you referring?"
— from Fathers and Sons by Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev - ‘Have you any other guests in your house?’ inquired he.
— from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet - Soon after this he inquired if I thought that the breaking up of the ice had destroyed the other sledge.
— from Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - And when he inquired about her adventures in connection with that burning house, this was the story.
— from History of Woman Suffrage, Volume I - ‘And what steps, sir, do you mean to take to obtain redress?’ inquired Mr. Winkle, gaining courage as he saw Pott losing it.
— from The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens - ‘Wot, didn’t she tell you were it wos?’ inquired Sam.
— from The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens - ‘Who the devil are you?’ inquired Mr. Jingle, in so fierce a tone, that the little gentleman involuntarily fell back a step or two.
— from The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens - He inquired whether anything had happened during his absence, and Charlotte hastily answered that Werther had been there on the evening previously.
— from The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - Then it came to pass a while after, that there was a messenger in the town that inquired for Mr. Honest.
— from The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan Every Child Can Read by John Bunyan
