Literary notes about damp (AI summary)
The word “damp” functions as a multifaceted descriptor in literature, evoking not only the literal presence of moisture but also conveying mood and character condition. It often depicts a gloomy, oppressive atmosphere where the persistent wetness mirrors declining health or lingering melancholy, as when a rainy climate worsens bronchitis or imbues settings with a sense of desolation ([1],[2],[3]). At times, “damp” marks the physical state of objects and characters—whether it is the moisture still clinging to clothing or the residual wetness affecting a person’s voice or touch ([4],[5],[6],[7]). In other cases, it steeps entire environments in an aura of decay or introspection, transforming a simple climatic detail into a potent symbol of vulnerability and emotional inertia ([8],[9],[10]). Such varied usage demonstrates how “damp” transcends its literal meaning to establish both the texture of the setting and the inner tone of the narrative.
- On rainy days he did not come to the summer villa, but stayed in town; damp, rainy weather affected his bronchitis and prevented him from working.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - Everything around seemed gloomy: a cold and damp easterly wind blew from the mountains, and black, heavy clouds spread over the plain.
— from The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - The cold and damp penetrated his whole body and he began to shiver.
— from Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - Noël Parfait brought us the five hundred copies, still damp, between his waistcoat and his shirt.
— from The History of a Crime by Victor Hugo - In the morning he wiped the boards with a damp cloth and stood them upright behind the dining room door.
— from Winesburg, Ohio: A Group of Tales of Ohio Small Town Life by Sherwood Anderson - “I be,” promptly answered a short man, with a nose resembling a copper knob, a damp voice, and eyes like button-holes.
— from The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy - She slipped from the bed, threw a damp blanket about her, and groped her way out of the room and down the stair, her guest stumbling after.
— from The Best Short Stories of 1917, and the Yearbook of the American Short Story - We came at length to the foot of the descent, and stood together on the damp ground of the catacombs of the Montresors.
— from The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe - The green damp hung upon the low walls; the tracks of the snail and slug glistened in the light of the candle; but all was still as death.
— from Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens - But I am sure, for all that, it is the damp and relaxing air.'
— from North and South by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
