Literary notes about effusion (AI summary)
The word "effusion" in literature reveals a remarkable range of meaning, from the overflowing of human emotion to the literal leaking of bodily fluids. Authors use it to portray heartfelt outpourings such as a sincere declaration of gratitude or affection [1],[2],[3], while at other times it captures the brutality of conflict and injury through descriptions of blood being shed [4],[5],[6]. In some narratives, it even comes to represent a writer’s unrestricted torrent of expression, whether poetic or satirical [7],[8]. Moreover, in works that touch on the clinical or natural world, the term is appropriated to describe the physical discharge of fluids in medical or geological settings [9],[10]. This versatility allows "effusion" to convey both the abstract and the tangible, enriching the texture of literary language.
- "No, by God," said Mahomet, with an effusion of honest gratitude, "there never can be a better!
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon - “I am so glad that you have come,” said he, shaking our hands with effusion.
— from The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle - While the grandfather, in full lyrical effusion, was listening to himself, Cosette and Marius grew intoxicated as they gazed freely at each other.
— from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo - This empire, whilst in its infancy, began by an effusion of human blood scarcely credible.
— from The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. 01 (of 12) by Edmund Burke - A revolution seemed imminent, but the matter was happily settled without effusion of blood.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova - The exploit shall be done with as little effusion of blood as may be.
— from Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais - we have half a mind to punish this young scribbler for his egotism, by really publishing his effusion, verbatim et literatim , as he has written it.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Edition by Edgar Allan Poe - In a word, it deserves to be regarded as an effusion of Saturnalian licentiousness, rather than of poetry.
— from The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Complete by Suetonius - By the torsion it becomes lifeless and, as it were, snared off; it curls up, becomes livid and comes off without much effusion of blood.
— from Surgical Instruments in Greek and Roman Times by John Stewart Milne - The pleura, on the left side opposite to the pericardium, appeared to have been inflamed, as there was an effusion of coagulated lymph on its surface.
— from Cases of Organic Diseases of the Heart by John Collins Warren
