Literary notes about dour (AI summary)
The word “dour” in literature is often used to evoke sternness, gloom, and a kind of unyielding reserve in both character and setting. Authors employ it to describe individuals with grim, downcast expressions or cantankerous natures, as seen in portrayals of surly, cantankerous figures with a dour aspect ([1], [2], [3]). It is also used to depict somber moods in landscapes and atmospheres, lending a sense of bleakness or isolation to the environment ([4], [5]). Moreover, its application in regional dialogue and description—often in Scottish or other distinct cultural contexts—adds nuance, conveying both a physical and emotional austerity in characters and settings alike ([6], [7]).
- And a dour, cantankerous, wrongheaded gowk he always was.
— from True to a Type, Vol. 2 (of 2) by Robert Cleland - He held my friend’s card in his hand, and he looked up with no very pleased expression upon his dour features.
— from The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle - “You are a dour and suspicious devil, Jock, and you’ve always been the same ever since I remember you.
— from Graham of Claverhouse by Ian Maclaren - And the call of the gulls that is eerie and dreary and dour, And the sound of the surge as it breaks on the beach of the bay.
— from Sprays of Shamrock by Clinton Scollard - "A dour, cold silence, worse than any words—a silence that minds you of a black frost."
— from A Reconstructed Marriage by Amelia E. Barr - He managed to continue work till nine o’clock, and then marched dumb and dour to his chamber.
— from Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë - The auld wifie I lodge wi' is dour by the ordinar', an' wadna bide 'is blatterin'.
— from Greyfriars Bobby by Eleanor Atkinson
