Literary notes about caused (AI summary)
In literature, the word “caused” serves as a pivotal connector between actions and their effects, functioning on both grand and intimate scales. Authors use it to denote the origin of consequential events, ranging from the internal—such as a character’s self-inflicted regret or anxiety [1, 2, 3]—to the extrinsic, exemplified by historical upheavals, divine interventions, or even natural phenomena [4, 5, 6]. In some texts, “caused” highlights the tangible triggers of physical or emotional responses, as seen in descriptions of bodily reactions, sudden changes in mood, or unexpected disruptions in the narrative flow [7, 8, 9]. Whether elucidating mythic feats [10, 11], outlining the chain of events that lead to political or social turmoil [12, 13], or underscoring personal responsibility and its repercussions [14, 15], “caused” consistently functions as a bridge linking causes with their outcomes, enriching the layered complexity of the narrative by illuminating how various elements—be they human actions, natural events, or supernatural powers—intertwine to shape the unfolding story [16, 17, 18].
- I upbraided myself for my absurd superstition, which had caused me to fall into the trap.
— from The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux - "DEAR MADAM,—Your letter received this morning has caused me very great anxiety.
— from The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins - I know that all my sufferings are caused by myself alone!
— from The Arabian Nights Entertainments by Andrew Lang - They caused the moon to rise over their city every night even out of his season.
— from The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 1 - Rain, however, and foggy weather encountered him, and caused his ships to straggle and get into disorder in the dark.
— from The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides - The same spring the Lacedaemonians marched against Argos, and went as far as Cleonae, when an earthquake occurred and caused them to return.
— from The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides - “Always busy,” replied Michael Ivánovich with a respectfully ironic smile which caused Princess Mary to turn pale.
— from War and Peace by graf Leo Tolstoy - The ward was filled with an effluvia that caused my heart to heave with painful qualms.
— from The Last Man by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - I was wondering what could have caused this urgent need for sleep, when I felt a dense torpor saturate my brain.
— from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas: An Underwater Tour of the World by Jules Verne - And striking neck against neck and forehead against forehead, they caused fiery sparks to come out like flashes of lightning.
— from The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 1 - And the Brahmins caused the prophecy to be written over the gates of the shrine in letters of gold.
— from The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins - Such tantalizing treatment imposed upon yourselves or any class of men would have caused rebellion and in the end a bloody revolution.
— from The Life and Work of Susan B. Anthony (Volume 1 of 2) by Ida Husted Harper - Now you understand how it is that that blackguard of a mayor caused all the mischief.
— from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo - “She most of all,” said Ernest, “requires consolation; she accused herself of having caused the death of my brother, and that made her very wretched.
— from Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - He could not conceive of taking her money, and the very idea caused him a pang of intense repulsion.
— from The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - Neither, as others again plead in their defence, was it indignation at the adultery of Paris that caused them to withdraw their protection from Troy.
— from The City of God, Volume I by Bishop of Hippo Saint Augustine - For this purpose and for these reasons they caused skin, hair, and nails to grow at the extremities of the limbs.
— from Timaeus by Plato - This for some time prevented the Danes from voyaging, and caused their supply of food to fail.
— from The Danish History, Books I-IX by Grammaticus Saxo