Literary notes about Thought (AI summary)
In literature, "thought" functions as a versatile marker of internal life, capturing everything from fleeting impressions to deep introspection. Authors employ it to reveal a character’s immediate judgments and emotional undercurrents, as seen when a character silently assesses a situation or reflects on past events ([1], [2], [3]). In some narratives, a single thought encapsulates a pivotal decision or a moment of hesitation before action, effectively bridging the gap between internal deliberation and outward behavior ([4], [5]). Meanwhile, its use can extend to philosophical musings and societal observations, thereby inviting readers into a more intimate engagement with the character’s consciousness ([6], [7]).
- “He is certainly,” thought he, “some village schoolmaster—some queer old fellow, such as one still often meets with in Jutland.”
— from Andersen's Fairy Tales by H. C. Andersen - Indeed, I little thought, when we parted at Upton, that our next meeting would have been in such a place.”
— from History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding - All her dear plans were embittered, and she thought with disgust of Sir James's conceiving that she recognized him as her lover.
— from Middlemarch by George Eliot - She thought, “I deserve it; I am punished for lowering my colours.”
— from Howards End by E. M. Forster - He stood still, thought a moment, and a suffering smile came for a moment on to his lips.
— from Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - Formerly it was thought that man’s consciousness, his “spirit,” offered evidence of his high origin, his divinity.
— from The Antichrist by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche - Intent is action in the sphere of thought; it corresponds to transition and derivation in the natural world.
— from The Life of Reason: The Phases of Human Progress by George Santayana
