Literary notes about flash (AI summary)
The term "flash" is often employed to capture moments of sudden brilliance or rapid transformation in literature. At times it denotes a literal burst of light, as in the depiction of lightning that momentarily illuminates the dark sky [1], [2], [3]. In other instances it symbolizes fleeting mental or emotional shifts—a spark of recollection or insight that alters a character's state almost instantaneously [4], [5], [6]. Moreover, "flash" can evoke both visual spectacle and metaphorical impact, whether it be the intense gleam of armor in battle or the vivid manifestation of inner passion [7], [8]. This versatile use of "flash" underscores its role as a metaphor for ephemerality, sudden change, and the juxtaposition of light against darkness.
- At that instant there was a flash of lightning.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - As he rose, a flash of lightning, that seemed to rive the remotest heights of heaven, illumined the darkness.
— from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet - A flash of lightning would have vanished less quickly.
— from Notre-Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo - In a flash, I recalled his conjecture that Liputin knew not only more than we did about our affair, but something else which we should never know.
— from The possessed : by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - Then he realised that he was doing it himself, and in a flash he understood the situation.
— from Peter and Wendy by J. M. Barrie - Suddenly, when he was far on through the Chase, he stopped, startled by a flash of reviving hope.
— from Adam Bede by George Eliot - The sword in his hands flashed like quicksilver into the huddle of our fleeing enemies; and at every flash there came the scream of a man hurt.
— from Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson - A hope, a passion, a crime, is a flash of vitality.
— from The Life of Reason: The Phases of Human Progress by George Santayana
