Literary notes about Soothing (AI summary)
Writers frequently use "soothing" to create an atmosphere of calm or to temper heightened emotions. The term can describe a gentle tone or touch that assuages anxiety—think of characters speaking in a "soothing tone" that reassures others ([1], [2]), or gentle gestures and embraces that quiet inner turmoil ([3], [4]). It is also employed in more lyrical passages to evoke a sensory, almost tangible comfort, as when the light or sound is described as "soothing" enough to lift spirits or ease woes ([5], [6]). In these ways, the word underlines a duality of physical and emotional solace that enriches the narrative and deepens readers’ sensory experience ([7], [8]).
- After a short absence (during which he could be heard to speak in a softened soothing tone) he returned, bearing in his hand a lamp.
— from The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens - ‘Very true, sir,’ said Mr. Chillip, in a soothing tone.
— from David Copperfield by Charles Dickens - She wanted to gather to her bosom, to comfort and protect, soothing the dear head that should lie on it with softest strokings and murmurs of love.
— from The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim - She was the weaker, then, and Beth tried to comfort and sustain her, with her arms about her, and the soothing words she whispered in her ear.
— from Little Women; Or, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy by Louisa May Alcott - And when the perfect moon before my gaze Comes up with soothing light, around me float From every precipice and thicket damp
— from Faust [part 1]. Translated Into English in the Original Metres by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - The very winds whispered in soothing accents, and maternal Nature bade me weep no more.
— from Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - To Archer's strained nerves the vision was as soothing as the sight of the blue sky and the lazy river.
— from The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton - Indeed, before long every one in the inn had followed their soothing example, and the hostelry lay plunged in complete restfulness.
— from Dead Souls by Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol
