Literary notes about Subdued (AI summary)
The term "subdued" functions in literature both as a descriptor of controlled inner states and as a marker of external conquest. It is used to indicate a deliberate calming or taming of strong emotions or passions, suggesting a mature restraint—as seen when impulsive temperaments are voluntarily retired [1] or when internal grief and fervor are quieted [2, 3]. At the same time, authors employ "subdued" to illustrate the act of overpowering adversaries, be they unruly peoples or hostile territories, thereby highlighting a conqueror’s might and the submission of entire nations [4, 5, 6]. Additionally, the adjective enriches dialogue by lending a quiet, reflective tone to characters’ speech [7, 8], demonstrating its versatile role in evoking both inner tranquility and the dynamics of power.
- Who else has subdued the violence of strong passions and an impetuous temperament, and submitted even from the dawn of life to voluntary retirement?
— from The Monk: A Romance by M. G. Lewis - They elevated me from all littleness of feeling, and although they did not remove my grief, they subdued and tranquillised it.
— from Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - The recollections subdued him, and he abruptly rose from his seat, and walked away to where no eye could observe his grief.
— from The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Ward Radcliffe - Thus doing he traversed the continent, until at last he passed over to Europe from Asia and subdued the Scythians and also the Thracians.
— from An Account of Egypt by Herodotus - If he subdued any country, his first care was to build mosques and caravansaras, hospitals, and colleges.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon - Canute the Great had conquered England by blows and weapons, and had a long struggle before the people of the land were subdued.
— from Heimskringla; Or, The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway by Snorri Sturluson - “A dream, a dream!” repeated Basilio in subdued tones. “Tell me what you dreamed.
— from The Social Cancer: A Complete English Version of Noli Me Tangere by José Rizal - “I ask your pardon,” said the Doctor, in a subdued tone, after some moments.
— from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
