Literary notes about doubt (AI summary)
Literature employs the term “doubt” both to assert certainty and to evoke uncertainty, serving as a versatile tool that enriches narrative tone and character depth. At times, authors use “no doubt” to reinforce the veracity of a claim or sentiment, lending authority and confidence to their assertions, as seen when characters or narrators affirm their beliefs with phrases like “there is no doubt” ([1], [2], [3]). In contrast, “doubt” also appears as a means to introduce hesitation or internal conflict, revealing psychological unease or the fragility of human conviction ([4], [5]). This dual role, oscillating between certainty and uncertainty, highlights the complexity of human perception and discourse, allowing writers to articulate both the power of conviction and the haunting presence of uncertainty throughout their works ([6], [7], [8]).
- There is, no doubt, much to be said for this view.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - “Are all your family well?” asked the count, with an affectionate benevolence, whose sincerity no one could for a moment doubt.
— from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet - No doubt God is eternal; but can my mind grasp the idea of eternity?
— from Emile by Jean-Jacques Rousseau - [pg 085] He is haunted by a great, unsolved doubt.
— from The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - So you took me captive in order to confound my believing soul and awaken doubt in it.
— from Best Russian Short Stories - I doubt if he can hold out long, though.
— from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - Anything would be better than this dreadful state of doubt.
— from The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - By this time what little doubt I might have entertained of my poor friend’s insanity, was put finally at rest.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 1 by Edgar Allan Poe
