Literary notes about Later (AI summary)
The word “later” is employed in literature to indicate the progression of time, often marking the space between events or phases in both narrative and expository writing. Authors use it to signal that a particular action or idea will follow the present moment—sometimes immediately, as in “a minute later” ([1]) or “two minutes later” ([2]), and other times after a considerable interval, such as “a few days later” ([3]) or “a year later” ([4]). Its versatility extends to describing developments in historical contexts or the evolution of ideas, for example, denoting changes in literary style or theory ([5], [6], [7]). In dialogue and reflective passages, “later” also establishes temporal links that create suspense or emphasize transformation, as seen when characters reference future meetings or events to come ([8], [9], [10]). Overall, “later” functions as a unifying device that both guides the reader through the sequence of events and marks significant moments of change in a narrative.
- A minute later he was in the street.
— from Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - Two minutes later she came from behind the screen and looked with heavy eyes at me.
— from White Nights and Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - A few days later her eldest sister called to ask me for the written permission required to make out a passport for my wife.
— from My Life — Volume 1 by Richard Wagner - A year later it was taken up, that Old Preben might be laid by the side of his wife.
— from Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen by H. C. Andersen - These, as indicating a special worship of the god, represent a later development.
— from A History of Sanskrit Literature by Arthur Anthony Macdonell - It is pretty certain that it was the Sozusa of the later Greek writers.
— from The Natural History of Pliny, Volume 1 (of 6) by the Elder Pliny - So it probably will be with many whole collateral lines of descent, which will be conquered by later and improved lines of descent.
— from On the Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selection by Charles Darwin - “We’ll talk it over later on.
— from War and Peace by graf Leo Tolstoy - “I fear, holy sister,” said the Religious, “that I am even later than I promised.”
— from Sybil, Or, The Two Nations by Earl of Beaconsfield Benjamin Disraeli - The “Darling” had informed him later on that the child was dead, and asked him in a letter what she should do with the money.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
