Literary notes about Trill (AI summary)
The word "trill" is used in literature to evoke both musical embellishment and the natural chorus of life. It often connotes a light, fluttering sound—a rapid succession of notes that can mirror the delicate ornamentation in music, as seen when a performer runs an arpeggio on a string instrument [1] or when a composition concludes with a series of high, shimmering octaves [2]. At the same time, "trill" frequently captures the ambient, rhythmic calls of nature, from the bittersweet sound of chirping insects in a silent throng [3] to the joyous song of birds that animate the landscape [4]. In emotional contexts, the term may even carry a nuanced quality, such as the tearful trill gracing a character's sorrow, imbuing the scene with both musicality and deep feeling [5].
- Come—will you t-take it?" Velasco began to trill softly on the G string, and then swept over the arch with an arpeggio pianissimo.
— from The Black Cross by Olive M. (Olive Mary) Briggs - The piece ended with a trill of octaves in the treble and a final deep octave in the bass.
— from Dubliners by James Joyce - In all that throng there was suddenly not the slightest movement, and no sound was to be heard except the trill of the insects.
— from Sacrifice by Stephen French Whitman - Then will the birds trill out upon the branches their songs of joy, and sermonize in lilting tones from the pulpits of the trees.
— from Selections from the Writings of `Abdu'l-Bahá by `Abdu'l-Bahá - And now and then an ample tear trill’d down Her delicate cheek.
— from The Tragedy of King Lear by William Shakespeare
