Literary notes about SOLEMN (AI summary)
The word "solemn" is employed in literature to evoke a mood of gravity, reverence, or even awe, often transforming an ordinary scene into one imbued with a sense of ritual or emotional weight. Its usage spans a wide spectrum—from describing an unearthly, deathlike silence that amplifies mystery ([1], [2]) to characterizing noble figures and ceremonial occasions, such as a knight’s dignified bearing or the sacred observances of fasts and vows ([3], [4], [5]). Authors have applied it both to the language of solemn rites and to moments of personal pledge and silent introspection, as when characters issue heartfelt promises or when an atmosphere of historic inevitability pervades the narrative ([6], [7], [8]). In this way, "solemn" strengthens the reader’s perception of formality and seriousness, granting both physical and emotional scenes a deeper, almost sacred, dimension ([9], [10], [11]).
- — N. silence; stillness &c. (quiet) 265; peace, hush, lull; muteness &c. 581; solemn silence, awful silence, dead silence, deathlike silence.
— from Roget's Thesaurus by Peter Mark Roget - The silence was as breathless as ever, but the horror of it had gone, and the solemn mystery of its stillness was all that remained.
— from The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins - The knight looked so solemn about it that Alice did not dare to laugh.
— from Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll - I conducted the solemn rites on March 10th.
— from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda - Blow the trumpet in Sion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly, 2:16.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - Starkenfaust endeavored to soothe him to calmness, promised faithfully to execute his wish, and gave him his hand in solemn pledge.
— from The Sketch-Book of Geoffrey Crayon by Washington Irving - So as we all took hands our solemn compact was made.
— from Dracula by Bram Stoker - He subscribed a solemn treaty, with the hope of deriving some advantage from the term of its continuance, and the moment of its violation.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon - And as for the Muse of Tragedy, that solemn and august personage—what are her aspirations?
— from Gorgias by Plato - The king now invoked the most solemn imprecations on the head of the murderer, and offered a reward for any information concerning him.
— from Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome by E. M. Berens - And all the men of Israel came to the king in the solemn day of the seventh month.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete