Literary notes about brooding (AI summary)
The term "brooding" in literature often serves as a vivid marker of deep, somber reflection and is used to evoke layers of inner turmoil and subdued melancholy. It can capture the quiet, introspective state of a character steeped in regret or forethought, as seen when a protagonist is lost in thought over past misfortunes or looming defeats ([1], [2], [3]). At the same time, authors frequently employ "brooding" to describe an atmosphere charged with latent gloom—a silent landscape or a darkened room that mirrors the internal state of its inhabitants ([4], [5]). Moreover, the word is sometimes used to hint at a subtle shift in mood or a contemplative, almost pensive gaze that suggests hidden depths beneath a placid exterior ([6], [7]). Through such varied applications, "brooding" enriches the narrative by layering the external environment with the internal emotional landscape.
- Six days did Don Quixote keep his bed, dejected, melancholy, moody and out of sorts, brooding over the unhappy event of his defeat.
— from Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra - At last, however, he began brooding over the past, and the strain of it was too much for him.
— from The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - Before you came in, I was lying here waiting, brooding, deciding my whole future life, and you can never know what was in my heart.
— from The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - A brooding gloom lay over this vast and monotonous landscape; the light fell on it as if into an abyss.
— from Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad - Only the gloom to the west, brooding over the upper reaches, became more sombre every minute, as if angered by the approach of the sun.
— from Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad - Her brooding look, as of a mind withdrawn yet not averted, seemed to Mr. Rosedale full of a subtle encouragement.
— from The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton - He raised his brooding eyes to her and suddenly noticed that he was sitting down while she was all the while standing before him.
— from Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
