Literary notes about Scorching (AI summary)
In literature, "scorching" functions as a powerful descriptor that conveys both literal and figurative intensities. Authors employ it to evoke the relentless heat of a blazing sun or desert, as seen in settings where the soil, air, or even the human body is seared by relentless warmth ([1], [2], [3], [4]). At the same time, the term is often used metaphorically to represent strong emotions such as anger, passion, or contempt, where a character’s gaze or words carry a burning, almost destructive quality ([5], [6], [7]). Its versatility allows writers to paint vivid sensory landscapes and internal experiences alike, from the overwhelming physical discomfort in harsh environments ([8], [9]) to the symbolic representation of inner turmoil and moral critique ([10], [11]).
- A scorching sun was blazing overhead, and absolutely forbade me to leave the house.
— from Tales of All Countries by Anthony Trollope - The sun blazed very hot that afternoon, scorching the already baked soil.
— from Captured by the Arabs by James H. Foster - The heat of my den was intense, for nothing but thin shingles protected me from the scorching summer's sun.
— from Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself by Harriet A. Jacobs - The Secret Cave T he sun had nearly reached the meridian, and his scorching rays fell full on the rocks, which seemed themselves sensible of the heat.
— from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet - De Winter shrank back from the fire of those scorching eyes.
— from Twenty years after by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet - "I should be very sorry to understand your feelings," said Tom, with scorching contempt.
— from The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot - The words of hatred and contempt—the first he had ever heard in his life—seemed like scorching missiles that were making ineffaceable scars on him.
— from Adam Bede by George Eliot - We saw water, then, but nowhere in all the waste around was there a foot of shade, and we were scorching to death.
— from The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain - The Arno was flowing slowly, as if tired and hot, under its bridges; Pisa looked deserted; the pavements were scorching under the feet.
— from Dorothy, and Other Italian Stories by Constance Fenimore Woolson - What imagination would have been irreverent enough to surmise that the same scorching stigma was on them both!
— from The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne - Never subdue thy foes by despicable means; and never utter such scorching and sinful words as may torture others.
— from The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 1
