Literary notes about dithyrambic (AI summary)
The term "dithyrambic" appears across literature as a descriptor for language that is wildly impassioned and exuberantly poetic. It is used both in reference to an ancient form of choral poetry and as a characteristic of modern rhetoric marked by fervor and excess. Authors invoke it to denote an energetic, often ecstatic tone—as when a character delivers a grandiloquent eulogy that swings wildly between laughter and passion [1] or when an assertion is made with a mock-epic flourish [2]. Similarly, its application can be ironic, critiquing a style that overflows with effusive praise or sentimentality, as seen when dismissing overly effusive literary praise [3] or when describing an uninhibited production of spirited verse [4]. This dual use underscores its versatile role in evoking both historical allusions and contemporary expressions of emotive, sometimes rhapsodic, discourse.
- He swung me with a laugh, to the other side of the room, and waved his arms grotesquely, as he continued his dithyrambic eulogy of the colossal idea.
— from The Belovéd Vagabond by William John Locke - [A] It is obviously easier to be dithyrambic than critical in chronicling this event; to which indeed dithyrambs are more appropriate than criticism.
— from Adventures in Criticism by Arthur Quiller-Couch - "Don't be dithyrambic, Wharton," said Carstairs.
— from The Hosts of the Air by Joseph A. (Joseph Alexander) Altsheler - The wildest forms of it were styled the dithyrambic; and impassioned grandeur of sentiment and diction were its characteristics.
— from Practical Guide to English VersificationWith a Compendious Dictionary of Rhymes, an Examinationof Classical Measures, and Comments Upon Burlesque andComic Verse, Vers de Société, and Song-writing by Tom Hood
