Literary notes about exasperated (AI summary)
The term "exasperated" is often employed to intensify the feeling of extreme frustration or impatience in literary narratives. Authors use it to signal a character’s inner turmoil or the mounting irritation of a group—whether through physical manifestations like flushed features or the abrupt breakdown of composure, as seen when a character’s blood rushes to his face ([1]), or through dramatic dialogue that reveals weariness with persistent challenges ([2], [3]). It also conveys a broader social or political commentary, capturing the build-up of collective discontent and the relentless nature of power struggles ([4], [5]). In this way, “exasperated” becomes a versatile adjective that deepens characterization and heightens narrative tension throughout literature ([6], [7]).
- At these words, Ch'in Chung and Hsiang Lin were so exasperated that their blood rushed up to their faces.
— from Hung Lou Meng, or, the Dream of the Red Chamber, a Chinese Novel, Book I by Xueqin Cao - “As it happens,” said Phyllis, in a tone of exasperated triumph, “I've got a shuttlecock in my pocket.
— from The Railway Children by E. Nesbit - In short—to put it as a husband would put it when exasperated to the point of speaking out—she is a liar.
— from Man and Superman: A Comedy and a Philosophy by Bernard Shaw - The unprovoked rebellion with which the Romans rewarded his services, exasperated his haughty spirit.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon - The jealousy of power was soon exasperated by the difference of character.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon - The reader has no doubt divined that this unexpected resistance which had exasperated the outcasts came from Quasimodo.
— from Notre-Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo - Exasperated beyond endurance, the captain cut the rope.
— from An Advanced English Grammar with Exercises by Frank Edgar Farley and George Lyman Kittredge
