Literary notes about Redolence (AI summary)
The word "redolence" in literature serves as both a literal descriptor for scent and a metaphorical tool to evoke mood and memory. Writers use it to detail the physical presence of aromas—from the delicate redolence of prairie flowers and blossoming lilacs to the more complex, even provocative, hints of tobacco and sin [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. At times the term captures the vibrant, almost tactile atmosphere of a scene, imbuing the narrative with the fresh redolence of youth, joy, or a bygone era [6, 7, 8]. In other instances, it functions similarly to a poetic palette, linking sensory experiences with emotional landscapes, demonstrating its rich versatility in enhancing descriptive language [9, 10, 11, 12, 13].
- The air was wine and seltzer, perfumed, as they absorbed it, with the delicate redolence of prairie flowers.
— from Heart of the West [Annotated] by O. Henry - A lily field, which a month before had been solid white with blossoms, still added its redolence to the perfumed night air.
— from The White Invaders by Ray Cummings - In a week the lilac and sweet honeysuckle will fill the air with grateful redolence.
— from A Cotswold Village; Or, Country Life and Pursuits in Gloucestershire by J. Arthur (Joseph Arthur) Gibbs - “F.O.B., of course,” nodded his accomplice with a smile, and Gaveston looked down at the couple, fascinated by their strange redolence of sin.
— from The Oxford Circus: A Novel of Oxford and Youth by Hamish Miles - That was why they liked him—for the curly auburn moustache and the discreet redolence of tobacco.
— from Mortal Coils by Aldous Huxley - A little girl, with a fair, light form, was sporting on the sands in all the redolence of youth and health.
— from The Public Life of Queen Victoria by John McGilchrist - His tidings were all that brought back to her mind 'the redolence of joy and spring.'
— from Falkland, Book 3. by Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron - That sunny enchantment, that redolence of mediæval romaunt, exhales from many a haunting spot in these castled crags.
— from Italian Fantasies by Israel Zangwill - smell , n. olfaction; odor , savor, scent ; ( sweet smell ) fragrance , aroma, perfume , redolence; ( offensive smell ) stink , fetor, stench .
— from Putnam's Word Book A Practical Aid in Expressing Ideas Through the Use of an Exact and Varied Vocabulary by Louis A. (Louis Andrew) Flemming
— from The Century Vocabulary Builder by Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) Bachelor- Fragrant the air with redolence of blossom!
— from Poems of Life by Katharine Forrest Hamill - Around him, carmine, blood-warm flowers exhaled a commingling redolence; near him a toy-like fountain whispered very softly and confidentially.
— from Under the Rose by Frederic Stewart Isham - There is something spirituelle in redolence.
— from Bushido, the Soul of Japan by Inazo Nitobe
