Literary notes about flicker (AI summary)
In literature, "flicker" is frequently used to evoke a sense of impermanence and subtle change—both in the physical world and within human emotions. It often paints a picture of a wavering light, as when a candle’s glow fades in hesitant pulses [1] or when a lamp’s unsteady beam brings shadows to life [2]. At the same time, the word subtly captures shifts in mood and character, suggesting brief expressions of emotion like a glimmer of amusement or despair in a person’s eyes [3, 4, 5]. Moreover, it can symbolize the dwindling of life or hope, as in the final sign of vitality that slowly dies away [6, 7].
- The candle end that had been burning on the table was going out and gave a faint flicker from time to time.
— from Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - When the lamp begins to flicker, the green patch and the shadows come to life, and are set in motion, as though by the wind.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - The flicker of amusement in his eyes became something more inscrutable.
— from The Best Short Stories of 1917, and the Yearbook of the American Short Story - The expression on his face did not change, but Tommy caught the flicker of despair in his eyes.
— from The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie - I saw his solemn eye melt with sudden fire, and flicker with resistless emotion.
— from Jane Eyre: An Autobiography by Charlotte Brontë - “I fear we have come too late,” he said, bending over Jack to try to catch the least flicker of life.
— from The Border Boys with the Texas Rangers by John Henry Goldfrap - That day by the pond had witnessed its last spasmodic flicker.
— from Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
