Literary notes about Terrify (AI summary)
The word "terrify" in literature has served as a multifaceted tool, capable of conveying both physical dread and psychological unease. In some texts—such as Hardy’s representation of ambush in Tess [1] and Shelley’s evocation of horror in Frankenstein [2]—it directly underscores the impact of overwhelming external forces. In contrast, authors like Rousseau [3] and Poe [4, 5] employ "terrify" to illustrate subtler forms of intimidation that affect the mind and social behavior, while Dumas uses it with both literal and ironic undertones across his works [6, 7, 8, 9, 10]. Whether describing beasts, societal fears, or personal anxieties [11, 12, 13], the term has been flexibly adapted by writers to enhance narrative tension and deepen character psychology throughout various genres and eras.
- Alec d'Urberville had evidently thought better of his freak to terrify her by an ambush of that kind.
— from Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman by Thomas Hardy - His success would terrify the artist; he would rush away from his odious handywork, horror-stricken.
— from Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - Her glance is enough to disarm and terrify him; he is more submissive than he used to be.
— from Emile by Jean-Jacques Rousseau - Proprieties of place, and especially of time, are the bugbears which terrify mankind from the contemplation of the magnificent.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 2 by Edgar Allan Poe - Proprieties of place, and especially of time, are the bugbears which terrify mankind from the contemplation of the magnificent.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Edition by Edgar Allan Poe - “I do not tell you this, madame, to terrify you; no, it is even ridiculous for me to name it to you, and, believe me, I take no heed of such dreams.
— from The three musketeers by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet - “Really,” said Athos to them, “you are not men but children, to let a woman terrify you so!
— from The three musketeers by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet - It is only shown to me to terrify me, that’s all.’
— from The three musketeers by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet - “You terrify me, Athos!” cried d’Artagnan.
— from The three musketeers by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet - I positively refuse; intrigues terrify me.
— from The three musketeers by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet - Yet, methinks, The manner of your death should much afflict you: This cord should terrify you.
— from The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster - Being naturally timid, the silence began to terrify him, and he resolved to search once more through all the rooms; but it was of no use.
— from The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang - And why is it that there is a god who has power to terrify the inferior gods, and none who has [Pg 397] power to free them from fear?
— from The City of God, Volume I by Bishop of Hippo Saint Augustine
