Literary notes about Tumultuous (AI summary)
In literature, the word "tumultuous" is employed to convey overwhelming chaos and intensity, whether describing external events or inner emotional states. It appears in narratives depicting the clashing din of battle and the roaring of nature—such as the tossing of waves and the wild shouts in epic journeys ([1], [2], [3])—and is also applied to characterize the stormy turmoil of the heart or mind during critical moments ([4], [5], [6]). The term bridges both the physical and the metaphorical, capturing scenes of political upheaval and social unrest ([7], [8], [9]) while at the same time suggesting the fervent, almost uncontrollable energy of human passion and memory ([10], [11]). This dual usage enriches the descriptive power of literary texts, transforming both landscapes and characters with a striking sense of disorder and vitality.
- It fell to my lot, to come as the influential power, to allay the fierce tossing of these tumultuous waves.
— from The Last Man by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - " On this he upraised his tumultuous flood high against Achilles, seething as it was with foam and blood and the bodies of the dead.
— from The Iliad by Homer - Tumultuous waves embroil the bellowing flood, All trembling, deafen'd, and aghast we stood!
— from The Odyssey by Homer - I shall never forget how the fury of battle throbbed in my veins—it seemed as if the tumultuous beating of my heart would stop my breath.
— from The Story of My Life by Helen Keller - Surprise, sorrow, fear, hope, and indignation raised a most tumultuous conflict in his bosom.
— from The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom — Complete by T. Smollett - They did not appear rich, but they were contented and happy; their feelings were serene and peaceful, while mine became every day more tumultuous.
— from Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - A tumultuous anarchy of five days was appeased by the inauguration of Ali: his refusal would have provoked a general massacre.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon - And Menadism, meanwhile, and Sansculottism takes counsel with the National Assembly; grows more and more tumultuous there.
— from The French Revolution: A History by Thomas Carlyle - And so, like snowbreak from the mountains, for every staircase is a melted brook, it storms; tumultuous, wild-shrilling, towards the Hotel-de-Ville.
— from The French Revolution: A History by Thomas Carlyle - His heart was tumultuous when he, of many winters, recalled all the number of them.
— from The Story of Beowulf, Translated from Anglo-Saxon into Modern English Prose - At times, Marius clasped his face between his hands, and the vague and tumultuous past traversed the twilight which reigned in his brain.
— from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
