Literary notes about aghast (AI summary)
The term "aghast" is often used in literature to convey a sudden, intense shock or dismay that leaves characters momentarily stunned. Authors deploy the word to heighten dramatic moments, whether describing a family’s collective horror at an unanticipated event [1] or a young person's early confrontation with unsettling truths [2]. In many narratives the term underscores the physical and emotional paralyzation brought on by extraordinary circumstances—ranging from fantastical resemblances of mythic terror [3] to the astonishment of witnessing the inexplicable or the grotesque [4]. This evocative adjective thus serves both as a marker of visceral reaction and as a subtle commentary on the inner turmoil experienced by individuals when confronted with a reality far beyond expectation.
- The family, seeing the young man come home thus, were all aghast.
— from Korean folk tales : by Pang Im and Yuk Yi - For though I was only nine, I too was aghast at hearing such words.
— from The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - Aghast returns; the messenger of woe, And bitter fate.
— from The Odyssey by Homer - Meantime I sank aghast into the chair which she had vacated.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Edition by Edgar Allan Poe
