Literary notes about Somberness (AI summary)
Somberness in literature functions as a multifaceted device, evoking moods of melancholy, introspection, and foreboding while often serving as a counterpoint to moments of levity or brightness. It may describe the atmosphere of a setting—such as a gloomy fire enginehouse that stands in sharp contrast to external commotion [1]—or subtly reveal the internal state of a character when a tragic mask drops to expose a deeper, pensive quality [2]. At times, the term underscores the inherent gravity of a scene by infusing even the natural world with an air of oppressive gloom, as when shadows encroach upon a dimly lit room to deepen an elegiac tone [3]. In other instances, somberness marks a shift in a character’s internal world or facial expression, hinting at profound emotional undercurrents that resonate throughout the surrounding narrative [4, 5].
- THE TRAP IS SPRUNG The somberness that permeated the fire enginehouse contrasted sharply with the din outside.
— from John Brown's Raid by United States. National Park Service - Outside the door, he did drop his mask of comedy to reveal a face not without the tragic touch in its somberness.
— from Light-Fingered Gentry by David Graham Phillips - The result is a certainty of design, a somberness of atmosphere, and an intensity of feeling, such as are found in elegiac poetry.
— from Halleck's New English Literature by Reuben Post Halleck - Even Tilly, for a moment, was silenced in the [212] hush and somberness of the place.
— from The Sunbridge Girls at Six Star Ranch by Eleanor H. (Eleanor Hodgman) Porter - Her face expressed a kind of final somberness.
— from Forward, Children! by Paul Alexander Bartlett
