Literary notes about Senseless (AI summary)
The term "senseless" functions in literature as a multifaceted descriptor, ranging from physical incapacitation to a metaphor for irrational behavior and absurdity. In some works, it paints a picture of bodily collapse or loss of consciousness—for instance, a character falling to the ground in shock or injury ([1], [2])—while in other contexts it conveys actions or policies devoid of logic and purpose ([3], [4], [5]). Poets and dramatists have also wielded the word to underline a kind of comic futility or an almost existential void, as seen in the witty, intricate usages in Shakespeare's writings ([6], [7]). Later novelists extend its application to capture both the chaotic internal states of individuals and the senselessness inherent in certain social or political acts ([8], [9]), thus demonstrating the term’s enduring versatility throughout literary history.
- Charlotte fell senseless at Albert's feet.
— from The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - For a moment only did I lose recollection; I fell senseless on the ground.
— from Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - Some prohibitions are easily understood from their purpose but others strike us as incomprehensible, foolish and senseless.
— from Totem and Taboo by Sigmund Freud - What is the origin of this senseless and unnatural custom?
— from Emile by Jean-Jacques Rousseau - that he himself judged to be senseless and impossible.
— from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo - You might have pinch'd a placket, it was senseless; 'twas nothing to geld a codpiece of a purse; I would have fil'd keys off that hung in chains.
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare - You are too senseless-obstinate, my lord, Too ceremonious and traditional.
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare - It may be senseless to beg forgiveness of the birds, but birds would be happier at your side—a little happier, anyway—and children and
— from The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - One soldier, in his fear, uttered the senseless cry, “Cut off!”
— from War and Peace by graf Leo Tolstoy