Literary notes about alarm (AI summary)
In literature, the term "alarm" serves both as a literal signal of danger and a metaphor for inner turmoil. It is used to instill immediate tension and urgency—as when a character’s sudden realization generates an almost palpable shock [1, 2]—or to reflect more internal, psychological distress, as seen when characters experience inexplicable inner agitation [3]. Authors employ alarm to punctuate key moments, whether marking a physical crisis [4, 5] or subtly signifying the disruption of complacency in a character’s mind [6, 7]. This dual usage enriches narratives by linking external disturbances with emotional and existential responses, thereby deepening the reader’s engagement with the unfolding drama [8, 9].
- Her eyes had in them a strange perplexity, and perhaps—but why?—alarm.
— from The Moon and Sixpence by W. Somerset Maugham - And here a fresh alarm brought me to a standstill with a thumping heart.
— from Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson - An irrepressible tremor gradually pervaded my frame; and, at length, there sat upon my very heart an incubus of utterly causeless alarm.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Edition by Edgar Allan Poe - “An alarm!” said I. “Yes, we've had a scare in this part lately.
— from The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle - He stumbled over a prostrate figure, which started up with a yell of alarm and dashed off down the street.
— from The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie - In spite of his alarm about Ilusha, he had not, till lately, felt one minute's doubt of his boy's ultimate recovery.
— from The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - But, all this while, I was giving myself very unnecessary alarm.
— from The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne - My soul is kindled, and my bosom burns; New rising spirits all my force alarm, Lift each impatient limb, and brace my arm.
— from The Iliad by Homer - “I cannot allow that,” Varvara Petrovna brought out hurriedly, even with some alarm.
— from The possessed : by Fyodor Dostoyevsky