Literary notes about alacritous (AI summary)
In literature, "alacritous" is often used to convey a sense of eagerness or briskness in action, imbuing characters or actions with an energetic, sometimes ironic, quality. One writer describes a retreat from a courthouse office as being more alacritous than dignified, suggesting both speed and a lack of ceremony [1]. Similarly, alacrity is noted as the motivating quality behind a hasty decision to proceed, emphasizing the character’s quick resolve [2]. The term also paints a vivid portrait of a surgeon whose brisk, cheerful demeanor leaves a strong impression on those around him [3], and it is even employed to underline an ironic contrast in cultural adaptations [4]. In more delicate narrative moments, it can highlight the precise and eager nature of an act as simple as serving food on a banana leaf [5] or the respectful, swift doffing of a hat as a tribute to a distinguished person [6].
- My retreat from the courthouse office was more alacritous than dignified.
— from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda - "That was why I was so alacritous to go."
— from Red Pottage by Mary Cholmondeley - Soon the surgeon of the house came,—a brisk, alacritous, civil, cheerful young man, by whom we were shown to the apartment where the mate was lying.
— from Passages from the English Notebooks, Complete by Nathaniel Hawthorne - The irony is that central and east Europe's adaptation was more farfetched and alacritous than the west's.
— from The Belgian Curtain: Europe after Communism by Samuel Vaknin - Alacritous, she served to him his share placed on a banana leaf that was on a bamboo placemat.
— from An Apostate: Nawin of Thais by Steven David Justin Sills - Before him every hat was doffed with alacritous esteem due to his age and worth.
— from Household stories from the Land of Hofer; or, Popular Myths of Tirol by Rachel Harriette Busk
