Literary notes about black (AI summary)
The word black functions as much more than a mere color descriptor in literature—it is a multifaceted symbol that conveys darkness, mystery, and intensity. At times it depicts literal absence of light, as when a void is described as "perfectly black" [1] or a ship’s "black hull" shrouds its secrets in the pitchiest night [2]. In other contexts it evokes mood and atmosphere, contributing to a foreboding or melancholic tone, as seen with "black doom" that signals impending misfortune [3] or a soul filled with “funereal images” [4]. Additionally, black is employed to define characters and cultural identities, distinguishing figures by their attire or physical traits—such as a mysterious woman in a black gown [5] or even a reference to a "black Christian" that hints at racial undertones [6]. Through these varied uses, black enriches narratives by layering literal darkness with symbolic depth.
- For a moment that circular cavity seemed perfectly black.
— from The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells - He makes his berth an Aladdin’s lamp, and lays him down in it; so that in the pitchiest night the ship’s black hull still houses an illumination.
— from Moby Dick; Or, The Whale by Herman Melville - the poisoned robe that held black doom....' Fragment #99A—Scholiast on Homer, Iliad.
— from Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica by Hesiod - This black has filled my soul with funereal images, just as white would have cheered me.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova - Suddenly the door opened and a woman in a black gown rushed in with outstretched arms.
— from Maggie: A Girl of the Streets by Stephen Crane - “Do you dare to tell me, ye old black Christian, ye don’t know ?” said Legree.
— from Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
